HAWTHORN midfielder Liam Shiels is close to returning from an ankle injury.
Shiels has missed four weeks with the injury sustained in the win over the Lions in Tasmania in Round 14, but is close to bolstering the Hawks’ midfield depth.
Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan admitted on Tuesday the 22 year old could return this weekend, but next weekend appears more likely.
“He’d be quite close this week, he’ll and train and knowing Liam, he’ll make a desperate bid to play but our expectation is he’s more likely for the following week,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
“He’s picked up a lot of fitness over the last week or so and he’ll be a good addition back into the team when he’s up and going again.”
Forgotten utility Xavier Ellis is also near a return, listed as being two weeks away on the Club’s official injury list.
Up until this week, Ellis’ calf injury was listed as to be confirmed, but a return to the track in recent weeks has him well placed to make a run for the finals in two weeks.
A late inclusion for the Round 13 win over West Coast at Etihad Stadium, Ellis injured his calf, like Shiels, in the win over the Lions in Round 14.
He was subbed out of that game just before half time.
Ellis will resume skills training on Thursday as he prepares to make his return through the VFL.
“He’s going really well, he’s doing a lot of running…and doing a lot of extra fitness work as well with our fitness guru Andrew Russell,” Fagan said.
“We’re really happy with where he’s at at the moment and we expect him to join in football work towards the end of this week.
“He’ll then have a couple of weeks of that and hopefully we can re-introduce him into playing games in about two weeks’ time.”
Anterior cruciate ligament victims Ryan Schoenmakers, Matt Suckling and Alex Woodward are making steady progress in their rehabilitation, with the latter pushing for a return late this year.
Woodward tore his ACL in a pre-season training session in January, the second time he has done the injury in his two years at the Club.
Senior pair Schoenmakers and Suckling aren’t as advanced as Woodward in their recovery, given the pair suffered the injury in Round 4 and the pre-season competition respectively.
Suckling, however, who injured his knee in week three of the NAB Cup completed his first jogging session over the weeked.
“They’re here in the gym all the time working on their leg strength,” Fagan said.
“‘ Woody’ in particular is out there training and doing skills work at the moment and looking really good.
“He’s going to make an attempt to play before the end of the year, but we’re not so certain of that.
“The other two guys are still mostly doing gym work, they might have started a little bit of jogging but not a great deal.
“They’ve been really positive about their rehab and have a good presence around the Club – they’re always encouraging the other guys.”
