HAWTHORN won't throw returning big man Jarryd Roughead into the ruck void created by Max Bailey's wrist injury.

Roughead will make his return from a ruptured achilles in the Hawks' final NAB Cup match against Fremantle in Perth on Friday night.

But coach Alastair Clarkson said the 25-year-old would be kept away from tap duties in the short-term, and possibly for the entire season.

"'Roughy' is certainly not ready for those type of responsibilities yet," Clarkson said at Melbourne airport on Thursday.

"We're very, very mindful of his re-issue back into league footy being in a position that he's comfortable in, not in the demands of the ruck, which is probably the most demanding position in the game at the present time.

"We might not play him in the ruck at all this year, we'll just wait and see."

Clarkson said Roughead would start as a substitute on Friday night and come onto the field during the second half.

He said Roughead remained only a slim chance to play against Collingwood in round one.

"As I've said all along, it's more unlikely than likely that he'll play in round one, but we'll see how he goes over the next couple of weeks," Clarkson said.

"It'll be his first run [on Friday night], so how he responds and recovers from the game will have a big bearing on when he'll play again.

"But we'd expect him to play some game time this week, build it up a little bit next week, and then see how he goes in the first couple of weeks of the season."

Former Brisbane Lion Broc McCauley has been called into the squad to face Fremantle, and is the frontrunner to fill Bailey's spot.

"At the moment, McCauley is in, replacing Max; that's as simple as it is for us at this point in time," Clarkson said.

"We'll see how he goes. We recruited him because he's mature-age, he's got a strong body, an aggressive mindset, and we think he'll be an adequate replacement for Max."

Bailey is having surgery on his wrist on Thursday.

Mark Macgugan covers Hawks news for afl.com.au and hawthornfc.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_MarkM