Breathe easy, Hawthorn fans. Cyril Rioli is back in the house.

The Hawks tweeted a picture of the brilliant small forward at the club on Tuesday for the first time this pre-season, having been granted compassionate leave to care for his father, who suffered a heart attack in Grand Final week and had surgery in November.

The Hawks put no time-frame on his return to the club, content to leave him to train on his own in the Northern Territory while he attended to his father.

The 28-year-old has fully recovered from a PCL injury he suffered in round eight last year that kept him out for the rest of the season.

The Hawks play their AFLX matches at Etihad Stadium on February 15 and open their JLT Community Series campaign on March 3 against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.

The club's Round 1 opponent is Collingwood at the MCG on March 24 and with two months to prepare, fans should expect the four-time premiership star to play, barring no further setbacks.