Bursting free of his marker again, Brown miscued his shot before rolling his left ankle as he lost balance and crumpled to the ground in obvious pain.

The early signs were worrying for Brown and coach Miron Bleiberg but further investigation revealed only a minor sprain.

It was great news for 20-year-old Brown who has been in scintillating form for Gold Coast this pre-season and can now look forward to making a real impression on the Hyundai A-League this term.

"It's only a grade one sprain caused by rolling my ankle when I went down on Sunday," said Brown.

"I'll be running on it again tomorrow and doing ball work early next week. It feels alright at the moment, so yes, it is a bit of relief to be honest, especially after what happened last season when I broke my leg.

"When I got injured last year I heard a bit of a noise and I heard something again on Sunday, so initially I was a bit worried. But as soon as I put a bit of weight on it and realised it wasn't too bad I started to feel better straight away.

"I got ice on it immediately and did all the right things so hopefully it'll clear up quickly."

A star for Gold Coast's Grand Final-winning youth team last season, Brown made his senior debut in the round nine clash against Wellington Phoenix and went on to make nine full appearances for Bleiberg's men.

His goalscoring breakthrough came via a sublime finish in the 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets in round 22 and the youngster is aiming to add to his tally this term.

Mentally and physically stronger this time around, Brown says he feels well prepared for the rigours of the upcoming campaign.

"I think confidence has a lot to do with it and I have felt that I've done pretty well this pre-season," said Brown." I'm really enjoying my football and I feel good at the moment.

"Cementing a place is my aim for the season, but first I have to focus on getting into the team for the first game of the season when we face Brisbane Roar.

"I think I can get my fair share of goals, so if I do manage to play more matches this season I hope to chip in with a few goals as well."