Hawthorn defender Grant Birchall's 2018 campaign has been dealt another blow, with a minor adductor strain postponing his comeback plans.
The 30-year-old is yet to play a game this year, after having surgery earlier in the pre-season on a knee injury that kept him out of the last half of 2017.
Nearing a return to full fitness, Birchall was preparing to play limited game time for Box Hill in its elimination final last Saturday, but injured his adductor at training during the week.
"Grant has had a number of muscle overload issues since returning to skills training," Director of High Performance Andrew Russell said.
"The adductor strain is minor and he should be available in the next one to two weeks."
