HAWTHORN expects to regain Captain Luke Hodge for Saturday night’s clash against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
After training strongly on Tuesday morning, Hodge will, however, need to get through another solid session on Thursday before being declared fit to play.
The Hawthorn skipper missed last Friday night’s 58-point win over Fremantle at the MCG after injuring his groin in the Round 2 clash against Essendon.
But General Manager – Football Operations, Chris Fagan expects Hodge to lead the Hawks against the Suns on Saturday night.
“It’s pleasing to report he trained this morning and got through training well,” Fagan told hawthornfc.com.au
“As long as he pulls up ok and trains well on Thursday, we expect Luke to be available for selection.”
Ruckman Ben McEvoy, a late withdrawal from Friday night’s win with a calf injury also trained on Tuesday but will need to pass a fitness test on Thursday.
“He’s in a similar vein to ‘Hodgey’, he didn’t quite do as much at training as what Hodgey did but again, we’ll put him through a test on Thursday and see how he comes up,” Fagan said.
The news is better for fellow ruckman David Hale who will play against Gold Coast despite suffering a shoulder scare in his 200th match on Friday night.
Hale hurt his shoulder in a marking contest in the third quarter of the win over Fremantle and received treatement in the rooms before playing out the game.
Fagan declared the 201cm ruckman a certain starter for Saturday night.
“‘Haley’ just copped a bit of a stinger on his shoulder in his 200th game – it looked a bit dramatic there for a while but he was able to return to the field and has recovered from the game really well,” he said.
“He was able to train today so we expect him to be out there on Saturday night.”
Defender Ben Stratton could be among the senior players to return following a successful comeback from a hamstring injury via the VFL on Saturday.
Stratton was one of Box Hill’s best in the 25-point win over Werribee, with 13 disposals, six marks and five tackles off half back.
“He’s pulled up from the game fine, so he’ll be putting his hand up this week for selection,” Fagan said.
But the news isn’t as good for fellow hamstring victim Brad Sewell, who faces another week on the sidelines after experiencing hamstring soreness in the aftermath of Saturday’s Box Hill victory.
Despite getting through the game and gathering 20 disposals in the win, Sewell could miss another fortnight.
“He got through the game but on Sunday morning was sore in his hamstring,” Fagan explained.
“The medical staff at the moment are looking into the affect of the sciatic nerve on his hamstring and they’ll investigate that further.
“He won’t be available to play this weekend, which is unfortunate.”
Ryan Schoenmakers, meanwhile, made a successful return from a knee reconstruction in the VFL and will continue to gain match fitness before being recalled to the senior side, while Alex Woodward will miss two weeks with a shoulder injury.
