HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says he's yet to decide what to do with Luke Hodge this weekend.

Hodge played his first game in 12 weeks with the Hawks' VFL affiliate Box Hill last Saturday after battling a knee injury.

Clarkson is now weighing up whether to bring the captain back into the senior line-up to face Essendon on Friday night, or give him more time at VFL level to build match fitness.

"We'll finalise our selection this afternoon," Clarkson said on Thursday morning.

"We'll give it (playing Hodge) some consideration.

"It'll depend on how he pulls up from training today."

Clarkson said starting the 28-year-old in the green substitute's vest was an option.

"We've got to work out whether we'll play him as the sub, or whether he plays on the ground, or whether we give him another run at VFL level," he said.

"If we bring him in as a sub, then it's likely that he'll play somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes, if the sub works out ideally and you make the sub towards the end of the third quarter.

"But if you have an injury early on and he comes on, he might end up playing 90 per cent of game time, and that's not ideal."

The 2008 premiership coach said it could take up to a month for Hodge to get back to full fitness, but that left enough time for him to hit peak form before the finals.

"We think it's going to take a three- or four-week process to get him back in the type of match conditioning to be able to run out games well," Clarkson said.

"If then we get three or four home and away games prior to the finals for him to get into some sort of form and continuity, we think that would be ideal."

Half-back Brent Guerra is likely to be selected to play the Bombers after serving a three-game suspension for a bump on Carlton's Eddie Betts in round 14, and Clarkson said key defender Stephen Gilham would also be considered.

Coleman Medal leader Lance Franklin didn't take part in Thursday's light session, with Clarkson saying the club was hopeful its star forward would be back in full training next week.