HAWTHORN will put Lance Franklin's sore ankle through a fitness test tomorrow in the lead-up to its clash with the Brisbane Lions in Launceston on Saturday.
The two-time All Australian forward limped from the field in the last quarter of the Hawks' loss to Collingwood on Sunday.
Hawthorn football operations general manager Mark Evans says Franklin is on track to face the Lions, but is still no certainty.
"He's progressing along nicely," Evans told hawthornfc.com.au on Wednesday afternoon.
"He'll participate in some of the training session tomorrow and then it'll be how he's pulled up out of that.
"So he's still got a box or two to tick."
Midfielder Chance Bateman faces a similar scenario to Franklin, having slightly re-aggravated the ankle injury that kept him out of action for three matches after he sprained it against the Western Bulldogs in round 10.
"It's not a high grade ankle, it's just a little bit niggly, so he'll need to prove his case tomorrow as well," Evans said.
"It's nowhere near to the extent of the previous strain, but he's just tickled it up again."
Evans reported that Jordan Lisle's surgery to repair a depressed fracture in his cheekbone had been successful, and the young big man was at home resting.
The 20-year-old clashed heads with Collingwood half-back Leon Davis on Sunday.
He won't play against Brisbane, but may not spend too long on the sidelines.
"The surgery went very well … he's home and feeling good with it so far, so that's a good start for him," Evans said.
"The plate that's in there makes the cheek as strong as it's going to be, so there's no problem from a strength point of view.
"Now it's a matter of whether it's comfortable for him to get back into exercise, and then when he's comfortable and confident to get back into footy he can progress pretty quickly from there.
"But he'll probably do little for the next week and then we'll see where he's at after that."
Evans said Cyril Rioli (hamstring), Brad Sewell (knee) and Ryan Schoenmakers (foot) are all on track for a return immediately after Hawthorn's round 17 bye.
"Cyril is training very well. If you didn't know Cyril Rioli and you saw him sprint, you'd think that he would be ready to go," Evans said.
"So it wouldn't be any great concern for him after the bye. We'd think he'd be definitely available.
"Brad has progressed into running, so he's now got a couple of weeks to get back up into the footy element of things, so that's going well for him."
Meanwhile, Melbourne veteran turned first-year Hawk Cameron Bruce, who has now missed nine matches with a knee injury, could make his return via the VFL in a week and a half.
"I would've thought he'd play somewhere in the next couple of weeks," Evans said.
"Box Hill have got a match next weekend. He's a chance at that, but if he wasn't available for that match I wouldn't have thought it'd be too far after that."
Evans believed Xavier Ellis would come into senior contention after a strong return with Box Hill last weekend, and fellow premiership player Rick Ladson would also be available after recovering from a thigh injury suffered against Gold Coast in round 13.
Michael Osborne is not in doubt for the trip to Tasmania despite getting a corked thigh against the Magpies on Sunday.
Injury list
Chance Bateman (ankle) test
Cameron Bruce (knee) 1-2 weeks
Lance Franklin (ankle) test
Stephen Gilham (knee) indefinite
Jordan Lisle (fractured cheekbone) TBC*
Angus Litherland (foot) indefinite
Brent Renouf (gall bladder) TBC
Cyril Rioli (hamstring) 1 week
Jarryd Roughead (Achilles) indefinite
Ryan Schoenmakers (foot) 1-2 weeks
Brad Sewell (knee) 1-2 weeks
Ben Stratton (knee) indefinite
Jordan Lisle has undergone surgery to repair a depressed fracture of his cheekbone, in which a metal plate was inserted into his cheek. He has returned home from hospital and will resume training when comfortable to do so.
