King, who was rested for last week's 24-point loss to Sydney, was named to return for Saturday's clash with red-hot Carlton at Heritage Bank Stadium.
But the 23-year-old was withdrawn on Friday morning after experiencing more pain in his knee.
He has been replaced by Mabior Chol.
King missed all of last year after undergoing a right-knee reconstruction, and the Suns won't take any risks with their star forward.
"We thought the week off for Kingy would give him a bit of a spike, which it did," interim Gold Coast coach Steven King said.
"He completed training on Wednesday, trained really strongly.
"This morning he came in and presented with a bit of swelling in his knee.
"We just didn't want to take any risks this week."
The coach remains confident there will be no long-term issue for the highly regarded Suns forward.
"No concern," King said.
"We'll have the chat next week about whether it's worth him making the trip down to Tassie or not (for Gold Coast's final game of 2023, against North Melbourne).
"We'll do the best thing for Ben.
"My philosophy as a coach and a person is you don't want to push someone into something they're not (ready for).
"You let the player decide where they're at.
"Kingy had another crack, it was up to him how he felt. To his credit, he trained strongly - but obviously there's something there."
Ben King has booted 40.21 from 20 games this season in a strong return from his torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Saturday's match will mark the AFL return of defender Connor Budarick, who suffered a second ACL tear in July last year.
Chol, Alex Sexton, Brayden Fiorini and debutant Lloyd Johnston are the other inclusions for the Suns.
Fifth-placed Carlton are on an eight-match winning run, and victory over Gold Coast could secure a home final.
The Blues have been bolstered by the return of key forward Harry McKay, who has missed the past five weeks with a knee injury.
Gold Coast copped a 59-point hammering at the hands of Carlton in June, with the Blues running rampant with a nine-goals-to-nil second term.
"It was just one of those things that happen in a game where momentum gets away from you really quickly and you're unable to wrestle it back," King said.
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