HAWTHORN will be without key forward Jack Gunston for Friday night’s semi final against Adelaide at the MCG.
GM – Football Operations Chris Fagan says the ankle injury Gunston sustained in last Friday’s qualifying final loss to West Coast Eagles was expected to sideline him for one week.
“He’s making steady progress with the injury, but not fast enough to be available to play on Friday night,” Fagan said.
“Hopefully if we can get a win on Friday night, he’ll be back in calculations for the following week.”
Gunston leads the Hawks’ goalkicking in 2015 with 53 majors and will be a big loss.
But Fagan says the Hawks have plenty of players in contention to replace the 23-year-old.
“We’ve got lots of different options,” he said.
“There’s guys that have been playing really well at Box Hill, like James Sicily and Timmy O’Brien, and Matt Spangher could come in and potentially play that role as well.
“There’s a few different options for us – we might even go smaller with a Jed Anderson type or someone like that.”
In a positive for the Hawks, Fagan said Isaac Smith had pulled up “really well” after the Hawks clash with the Eagles, after sustaining a knee injury a fortnight ago.
As at Tuesday 15 September
Gunston (ankle) 1 week
Webster (hamstring) season
Woodward (knee) season
Brand (shoulder) season
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