The Brisbane Lions AFC advises that Vice Captain Daniel Merrett has suffered an acute stress fracture in his back, which is expected to see him miss 8-10 weeks.

Merrett sustained the injury during the Lions' Round 11 match against Sydney, where post-match soreness and subsequent scans revealed that he had fractured his right L4 pars (a small part of the vertebrae).

Merrett has been widely praised for his outstanding performance in the Lions' back line so far this season, and many were tipping him for All Australian selection at full back.

"I felt that something wasn't right during one of the contests, but was able to play on - I didn't think it was anything too serious," Merrett said.

"After the game, I felt a bit sore and went in for scans on Monday which showed the stress fracture."

"It's frustrating because obviously you want to be out there contributing to the team and we've had some very rough luck with injuries this year."

"But I've got every confidence in our back line that they'll hold down the fort while I recover, and hopefully I'll be back fit and firing as soon as I can."

General Manager of Football Operations, Dean Warren, said that it was extremely disappointing to be losing Merrett for such a long period of time.

"Daniel has been one of the standout performers this season and it is certainly a blow to lose him for 8 or 10 weeks," Warren said.

"Dan is someone with not only a great presence on the field, but fantastic leadership qualities off the field as well - which fortunately he'll still be able to provide as he moves through the recovery process."