Hawthorn sharpshooter Jack Gunston is expected to miss the next two to three weeks with a knee injury suffered in Sunday's win over the Western Bulldogs.
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Gunston booted three goals in the 62-point win before an opponent fell across his leg in the final quarter. Scans on Monday revealed damage to the medial ligament.
Football boss Chris Fagan told the Hawthorn website he was confident Gunston would return before the finals.
“You’d expect at the very latest he’ll be OK for the Collingwood game (in round 23),” he said.
“Jack has had a full season so we think he’ll make a pretty quick recovery and be on the go for the finals.”
Gunston has kicked 44 goals this year, including a bag of six against North Melbourne in round 16.
Sam Mitchell (flu) and Isaac Smith (calf), late withdrawals on Sunday, are both expected to return.
“Sam looked much better today; he was looking pretty shabby late last week,” Fagan said.
“He was at training on Monday and looked a lot brighter so we expect him to be fine for the weekend’s game.”
Midfielder Brad Sewell (hamstring) will also be available this week.
The Hawks continue to be without Cyril Rioli (hamstring) and Brian Lake (suspended until round 21).
Flanker Grant Birchall said on Tuesday that it was business as usual on the track despite a tough run to finals, as the Hawks avoided chilly conditions at their Waverley training basewith an indoor weights session.
After Melbourne in Saturday’s twilight match at the MCG they face Fremantle (fourth on the ladder) away, Geelong (third) and Collingwood (eighth).
Birchall said that trio was being pushed through heavy recovery programs, while the main list was enjoying a settled schedule despite the tough run home.
“It’s been pretty much the same, we’ve been pretty consistent with our training. We can’t take any game lightly," he said.
“Our fitness coach, Andrew Russell, has been punishing [Lake] quite a bit on the track, so I’m sure he’ll be nice and fit and ready to go when he comes back.”
Rioli has a new children's book out this week, Fox Swift takes on The Unbeatables, but Birchall says he’s yet to buy a copy.
“No I haven’t. I heard about that yesterday so I might have to flick through and have a bit of a quick read.”
