Frustrated Sydney star Errol Gulden has spoken shortly after learning he's set for shoulder surgery that will rule him out for up to four months.
Gulden injured his shoulder in Saturday's win over Brisbane in a tackle, with his right arm extending as he fell to the ground.
"I'll go into surgery tomorrow up here in Sydney," Gulden said on Fox Footy.
"There'll be weeks where I won't be doing a whole lot and then we'll get stuck into rehab and working towards a return later in the year.
"It's been a frustrating 48 hours but the support has been great from everyone at the club.
"It is what it is."
The speedy Swan provided a golfing analogy that helped explain the injury.
"(The surgeon) ran through the injury I had done," Gulden added.
"I'm not good at the medical side of things but he basically equated to a golf ball and a tee, and I've done a little bit of damage to the tee, which is the shoulder sitting in the ball socket. He ran me through the surgery, and what the first few weeks will look like. It's good to get a little bit of clarity.
"I had my fingers crossed over the weekend. I didn't actually feel too bad. I kind of thought I'd play on but I woke up pretty sore on Sunday, and we decided as a club that surgery was the best thing to do to try eliminate the risk of it happening again."
This will be the second consecutive year that Gulden will be sidelined for an extended period, after missing the first half of last year with a serious ankle injury.
The classy midfielder says he'll learn from 2025's experience, and is better prepared to deal with the long recovery.
"Unfortunately I have a bit of experience in (long-term injuries) from last year," Gulden said.
"I'm better suited for the challenges long-term injuries will throw my way. There's probably some things I would have liked to have done differently last year, so now I have the chance to do that this year."
He'll continue to work closely with the coaches and his teammates while being sidelined.
