HAWTHORN forward Jack Gunston will miss up to three weeks with a knee injury suffered in the win over the Bulldogs on Sunday.
GM - Football Operations Chris Fagan confirmed scans on Monday revealed damage to the medial ligament in his knee.
Gunston was helped from the field in the final quarter after an opponent fell across his leg and didn’t return after booting three goals in his side’s 62-point win.
“Scans yesterday revealed Jack has done some low-grade damage to his medial ligament,” Fagan told hawthornfc.com.au
“What that effectively means is he’ll be out for somewhere between two and three weeks.”
It means Gunston might not be available until Hawthorn’s final home-and-away game against Collingwood.
He will miss Saturday’s clash against Melbourne at the MCG, the Round 21 game against Fremantle in Perth, while he could also miss the blockbuster against Geelong in Round 22.
Despite the setback, Fagan is confident Gunston will return before the finals.
“You’d expect at the very latest he’ll be ok for the Collingwood game,” he said.
“Jack has had a full season so we think he’ll make a pretty quick recovery and be on the go for the finals.”
It is a blow for the Hawthorn forward who has had another outstanding season for the Hawks after being named the best player in finals in 2013.
Gunston has booted 44 goals this year, including a haul of six against North Melbourne in Round 16.
The news is better for Sam Mitchell and Isaac Smith, however, both of who were late withdrawals on Sunday.
Mitchell missed the game with the flu but after returning to the Club on Monday, is expected to play against the Demons.
“Sam looked much better today; he was looking pretty shabby late last week,” Fagan said of Mitchell.
“We were hopefully he’d come up for the game on Saturday but it wasn’t to be.
“He was at training on Monday at looked a lot brighter so we expect him to be fine for the weekend’s game.”
Smith is also expected to return after experiencing tightness in his calf at Hawthorn’s final training session on Saturday.
“We made the call not to take the risk with him,” Fagan said.
“The expectation is he’ll train this week and be available against Melbourne.”
In more good news for the Hawks, veteran midfielder Brad Sewell will also be available to return this weekend after recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in Round 16.
