Injured Hawthorn pair Mitch Lewis and James Blanck will travel to the United States next week to complete a rehabilitation block with internationally renowned reconditioning guru Bill Knowles. 

The key position players will train at Knowles Athletic in Philadelphia where the American has built a reputation as one of the leading rehab experts in the world, using a unique approach to enhance recoveries from anterior cruciate ligament ruptures. 

Knowles has more than three decades of experience and has been working with AFL players since two-time Geelong premiership player Max Rooke first visited Philadelphia in 2010, with players from another dozen clubs visiting since then. 

Lewis and Blanck both started running in the closing months of 2024 and are aiming to return to action by midway through this year after undergoing knee reconstructions last year.

Blanck tore his ACL in Hawthorn's intra-club almost 12 months ago but is at a similar position in his rehabilitation to Lewis due to complications following the initial reconstruction.

Lewis suffered his own ACL tear in round 17 in what was his first senior game since Easter Monday.

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Behind the Scenes of Mitch Lewis' ACL Recovery

A behind the scenes catch up with Mitch Lewis

Hawthorn rehabilitation coordinator Jack Price has worked closely with the pair and will also travel to the United States to maximise the learnings.

“Mitch and James are progressing incredibly well in their respective rehab journeys and remain on track to return to the field in 2025,” Price said.

“Working closely with our experienced medical and high-performance team, both players have done a mountain of work to this point to put themselves in a position to play games this season.

“We see this trip as an opportunity to add a layer of icing on the cake of their return-to-play progressions to ensure peak performance when they get back on the park.”

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Knowles has worked with Melbourne superstar Christian Petracca, West Coast great Nic Naitanui, Greater Western Sydney veteran Cal Ward and Carlton star Sam Docherty among other stars in the past, developing planned performance reconditioning strategies following long-term injuries. 

International superstars Tiger Woods, Andy Murray, Peyton Manning, Jonny Wilkinson, Alex Rodriquez and Frank Lampard are also some of Knowles' illustrious past clients. 

Hawthorn will accelerate its preparations for the 2025 campaign when they head down the highway on February 17 to face Geelong in a scratch match at GMHBA Stadium.

Sam Mitchell's men will then host the Western Bulldogs at University of Tasmania Stadium in the AAMI Community Series on February 27 ahead of their Opening Round clash against Sydney at the SCG on March 7.