CYRIL Rioli is likely to return from the midfield to the forward line when he returns from his latest hamstring injury, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says.

Clarkson told Talking Footy with Leigh Matthews on afl.com.au he was concerned the greater workload of playing in the midfield may have contributed to Rioli's three hamstring injuries in the past two seasons.

"We're just mindful of the fact he's had three hamstrings since we've moved him up higher the ground," Clarkson said.

"[The current injury has] been quite a minor one, but the previous two he had were significant.

"Maybe they're fatigue-related, so when he comes back we'll probably play him a little bit more around the pointy end of the ground."

Clarkson said the Hawks would miss the "electricity" Rioli brought to their midfield, but his presence on the forward line, where he spent the early part of his career, would take some of the goalkicking load off key forwards Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead.

Rioli missed the Hawks' round seven clash against Port Adelaide and will also sit out Sunday's game against St Kilda. Clarkson did not say when he was likely to return.

Clarkson also said he was confident Hawks skipper Luke Hodge was close to recapturing his best form, having almost overcome the achilles tendon problems that have dogged him since the pre-season.

"Each week he is recovering better from games and getting more training time," Clarkson said, revealing Hodge trained for just 30 minutes a week in the opening three rounds of the season.

"He's done probably 80-90 per cent of the training program this week and is not too far away from playing his best footy," he said.

Asked about Melbourne midfielder Jack Trengove's unsuccessful appeal against a three-match suspension for his tackle that left Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield concussed, Clarkson said he'd like to see a committee set up with discretionary powers to downgrade penalties for similar contentious offences.