HAWTHORN star Lance Franklin is confident he’ll play against Essendon in Friday night’s top-of-the-table clash at Etihad Stadium.
The Hawks star has missed two matches with swelling behind his knee, but a return to the track over the weekend has him believing he’ll be ready for the Bombers on Friday night according to Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan.
Franklin will need to complete a full training load and a fitness test this week, however, before being cleared to play.
“‘Bud’ did some good running over the weekend and chatting to him yesterday, he’s pretty confident he’ll be available for Friday night,” Fagan told hawthornfc.com.au
“He’s still got to get through training this week with no setbacks, but we don’t expect that he will (have any).”
Hawthorn Captain Luke Hodge said on Monday he hopes to have the star forward back for the blockbuster.
"He ran on the weekend and said he pulled up really well," Hodge said.
"He'll be preparing to play, as he did last week, and I guess he's got to tick a few boxes and hopefully he's ready for Friday night."
