AFTER missing two weeks with a shoulder injury, Cyril Rioli could return for the Hawks in Friday night’s clash with the Eagles at the MCG.
Rioli suffered bone bruising and deep muscle bleeding in his shoulder during the win over Port Adelaide in Tasmania in Round 20.
He was substituted at half time.
The Hawks expected Rioli to be unavailable for up to three weeks, but after training strongly, could return earlier than expected.
General Manager - Football Operations, Mark Evans confirmed he is expected to put his hand up for selection on Thursday.
“He’s missed two weeks with that shoulder and has trained brilliantly over the last two weeks,” Evans said of Rioli’s recovery.
“He’ll put his hand up hopefully [for selection] and we’ll know more from there.”
Rioli’s possible inclusion on Friday night could see the Hawks field one of its strongest teams of the season.
The Hawks are in good shape in the lead up to the first week of the AFL finals, after spearhead Lance Franklin made a successful after battling a hamstring injury and then illness.
Franklin booted four goals in his return against the Swans last Saturday to be one of the Hawks’ best in the seven point win.
Evans admits that while the players were sore after a tough, contested match against the Swans, the decision stay in Sydney overnight to begin preparing for the Eagles has paid off.
“The boys have pulled up really well [from the Sydney game],” Evans said.
“They were obviously really tired and sore on Sunday, but we stayed in Sydney for recovery on Sunday and that worked wonders for us.”
Captain Luke Hodge (five matches) and Franklin (one) have been managed in the back end of the season, and will ramp up their preparations for the Hawks’ 2012 finals campaign against the Eagles on Friday night.
The Hawks have managed the workload and rehabilitation of its players in the back end of the season with Sam Mitchell (calf), Jarryd Roughead (ankle) and Josh Gibson (ankle) all missing matches each in recent weeks.
Evans says the Hawks have managed the workload of all players throughout the season, with the aim of keeping the players “fresh” for the Club’s 2012 finals campaign.
“It’s more about load management,” Evans said.
“You obviously have a couple out through injury and suspensions, a couple you run through a sub just to give them a slight freshen up, and a couple you might leave out altogether [during the year].
“That’s been managed pretty well.
“It’s getting to the point end now where you want all of your guns up and going.”
Injury list
Andrew Boseley (shoulder) - season
Jarrad Boumann (hand) - test
Luke Lowden (wrist) - season
Michael Osborne (knee) - season
Cyril Rioli (shoulder) - test
Alex Woodward (knee) - season
RELATED
Check out this week's match preview, Looking ahead to West Coast Hawthorn's dream run Finals come early for Hawks We've got the belief: Burgoyne Hawks live on the edge
