HAWTHORN has been cursed by knee injuries all year and will now be without versatile and experienced defender Ben Stratton for the rest of the season.
And fellow defender Grant Birchall, whose return has played such a key part to the team’s improved form over the past two weeks, has also been ruled out of Saturday’s game at University of Tasmania Stadium against Greater Western Sydney because of a knee injury.
Stratton was set to return last Sunday against Collingwood after missing five games because of a bone bruising in his knee, but after completing training the day before, he woke on the morning of the game with the joint swollen once again.
The full injury list: Round 16
He withdrew from the game against the Pies and has now been shut down for the year.
“Unfortunately, he further irritated some cartilage in his knee joint,“ Hawks elite performance manager Andrew Russell told hawthornfc.com.au.
“He’s out for the rest of the season to let that joint fully recover so that he’s ready for next season.”
Birchall’s wretched luck continues. The Collingwood match was just his fifth for the year and only the third he completed in full. He fractured a jaw in round two and strained a medial ligament in round seven.
“The knee is telling us it is irritated,” Russell said.
“We need to get the swelling out, so he won’t play this week and we need that knee to settle down and for the swelling to leave the joint before he can play again.”
Cyril Rioli and Jaeger O’Meara are other star Hawks whose seasons have been derailed by knee injuries.
Small forward Paul Puopolo has trained well so far this week after missing the Collingwood clash because of an adductor strain, but needs to get through Thursday’s main session before being considered for the clash with the Giants.
Veteran backman Josh Gibson will resume ball work next week as he recovers from a groin strain, while full-back James Frawley (turf toe) is undergoing a conditioning block.
Unlucky midfielder Jonathan O’Rourke is running well and will resume ball work in a fortnight while Rioli is back running as he recovers from his PCL injury and is in good spirits.
However, as coach Alastair Clarkson admitted on Sunday, there remains every chance the Hawks will choose to shut him down for the rest of the season, particularly with the finals likely out of reach.
The Hawks are 6-8 and in 13th place, and with the Giants and Geelong to come, could be out of finals contention within a fortnight.
One player the Hawks are keen to get back on the ground is O’Meara.
The prized recruit, who has played just four games in 2017 because of bone bruising in his patella is also back running and the plan is to play him for a few games towards the end of the season – even at VFL level if need be – so that player and club have some peace of mind heading into the long off-season.
