Hawthorn captain Richie Vandenberg is expected to miss the beginning of the season with a hamstring injury.

Vandenberg left the ground during the first quarter of last Saturday’s practice match against Essendon with hamstring tightness. Scans taken earlier this week show a low grade tear to his hamstring.

General Manager Football Operations Mark Evans said that while it is a low-grade tear, the injury needs to be respected by allowing Richie a solid amount of training time before he resumes playing.

“Richie suffered a slight hamstring tear the day before Round 1 of the NAB Cup,” Evans said.

“Since this is a reoccurrence we have decided to allow Richie a good three to four weeks of decent training after his hamstring heals.

“While this means he will probably miss the first few rounds of the season, we hope this allows Richie an uninterrupted season from that point.”