The promising future of a young GIANTS star has been put on hold, with new recruit Fleur Davies sidelined with injury for season seven.

The 18-year-old sustained a serious shoulder injury at training and will undergo surgery in the coming weeks.

The expected return to play time frame for Davies is six months, meaning the talented ruck will move to the GIANTS’ inactive list for season seven.

“It’s a really disappointing blow for Fleur on the eve of the season,” said Head Coach Cam Bernasconi.

“She’s an 18-year-old who made the move to Sydney to give footy a crack and now she has to miss out.

“She’s got a great future ahead of her though and this little setback is no doubt only going to make her more hungry and determined for success.”

The GIANTS have replaced Davies with local emerging talent Grace Hill.

The UTS Bats player has been a part of the GIANTS’ train on program since May this year and will join the side as a defender and ruck.

Relatively new to the game, Hill’s background is in netball, which is where the club identified her earlier this year.

Naturally athletic and with a competitive nature, Hill’s improvement has been significant since joining the program.

Head Coach Cam Bernasconi congratulated Hill on her elevation. 

“We didn’t want to have just a band-aid solution,” said Bernasconi.

“We had identified Grace as someone that was in our future plans, but it’s a great opportunity now to be able to bring her into our program full-time, value add and develop her straight away.”

The GIANTS open their season this Sunday in Melbourne, taking on the Western Bulldogs at Ikon Park from 12:10pm.