HAWTHORN captain Luke Hodge could miss the first month of the 2013 season as he recovers from stabilisation surgery to his left knee.

Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans told The Age it was "hard to predict" when Hodge would be fit to play but conceded "it will certainly be possible that he could miss the start of the season''.

The 28-year-old damaged a posterior cruciate ligament in round six against St Kilda and missed the next 10 games. He carried the injury in the Hawks' last eight games.

It is hoped Hodge will be ready to resume running before Christmas but his onfield availability will be determined by his progress to more intense and complex work.

''It's one of those ones, we might have learnt a little from last year, with a player like Luke you are far better off bringing them back when they are ready to come back, rather than sort of rushing to get to round one,'' Evans said.

''If he's capable of playing round one, he will, but it could be three or four weeks into the season."

The loss of Hodge would be keenly felt by the Hawks, who face the other 2012 finalists in the opening seven rounds. Their season kicks off with clashes against Geelong, West Coast (away), Collingwood and Fremantle (Aurora Stadium).

''I would have thought he will be doing running activities pre-Christmas,'' Evans said.

''It's then making sure the progression is from just doing a gentle jog through to full sprinting, through to off-line (running) and turning and all those sorts of things, competitive work. I think we'll take a cautious approach across the summer.''

The stabilisation surgery had been important, Evans said.

''It self-repairs when you rupture a PCL but it was probably a bit too loose,'' he said.

''The fear from that was over time the laxity in the knee means he would scrape the cartilage off the surface of his joint. The surgeon decided it would be best to stabilise the knee by replacing his PCL and putting in an augmented ligament.

"I think it was one of his other tendons. That will slow him down across the summer.''

Other Hawks to have undergone surgery include Jarryd Roughead (ankle), Jordan Lewis (shoulder) and Shaun Burgoyne (ankle).