CARLTON key-forward prospect Luke Mitchell will miss the start of the Blues' 2012 premiership campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery on Tuesday.

Mitchell, 19, underwent a full latarjet reconstruction of his right shoulder after dislocating the joint in an innocuous training mishap at Visy Park on Monday and will be sidelined for between 12 and 16 weeks.

"He can't actually remember the action, but he went up in a marking contest and his arm just got pulled back a little bit," football manager Andrew McKay explained on Wednesday.

"It subluxated the shoulder joint … then it popped back in.

"At this stage of the year and given Luke's history with his shoulders, [we didn't want to] treat it conservatively for fear that it might occur again. It's a lot less likely that he will have problems after the latarjet reconstruction.

"We're confident going forward that both his shoulders will be nice and stabilised and that it will be very unlikely to happen again."

Mitchell, taken 42nd overall at the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, has endured a wretched run with shoulder injuries.

He missed most of his final TAC Cup season with the Calder Cannons after having his left shoulder operated on following a practice match mishap early in 2010.

He returned late in the season and kicked five goals in the Cannons' Grand Final win against Gippsland, but his first preseason at Visy Park was soured when he required surgery on his right shoulder in December.

Two more operations on his left shoulder, including a full reconstruction, restricted him to just two games in the Bullants' reserves team in 2011 and he finished the season on the long-term injury list.

Despite the latest setback, both the club and Mitchell are optimistic that Tuesday's surgery will mark the end of his run of bad luck.

"The light at the end of the tunnel is that at least he's done it earlier rather than later," McKay said.

"The season doesn't start for about another eight weeks so at least he'll have half of his rehab done by then.

"He's a pretty strong character and a good guy. We thought he might get a bit low, but he's actually not too bad. He's pretty disappointed, as anyone would be after a couple of [reconstructions], but he's holding up well."

With the best-case scenario seeing Mitchell pushing for selection in the VFL by round four or five, McKay said the club had no plans to move him onto the long-term injury list.