ALL-AUSTRALIAN forward Luke Breust will be out for at least the next month after suffering a small fracture in his jaw in Sunday's victory over North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
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The injury occurred with five minutes left in the third quarter, with the star Hawk charging in to tackle Todd Goldstein, only to crash into the star Kangaroos ruckman's left shoulder.
The 29-year-old went to ground in the aftermath and immediately reached for his jaw as play continued around him.
Breust – who hasn't played fewer than 21 games in any season since 2011 – played the match out, winning two disposals and laying two tackles in the final term.
Hawthorn's physical performance manager Luke Boyd said Breust pushed through the pain to complete the game but realised there might be a bigger issue the next day.
"He woke up on Monday morning and he was quite sore through there, so we got the area scanned," Boyd said.
"What that's shown is a small fracture through his jaw, so he will have surgery on that in the next 24 hours and he will miss a few weeks of football."
Breust's kicked six goals in four matches this year, while also being a pivotal part of Hawthorn's forward-half pressure.
It's the latest odd injury for the Hawks this season, including Jaeger O'Meara missing round two recovering from a facial fracture above his eyebrow.
Ex-Giant Jon Patton was a late withdrawal from the North game because a blister on one of his feet hadn't sufficiently recovered by last Saturday's Captain's Run.
Patton moved freely at training at Waverley Park on Tuesday afternoon, working in a small group with fellow forwards Josh Morris and Jackson Ross.
Mitch Lewis, who replaced Patton in the Hawks' senior side, kicked one goal from four possessions.
Breust's injury opens the door for veteran Paul Puopolo to return to the team after being a late out a fortnight ago with calf tightness, then being an emergency for Sunday's match.
Conor Nash and Darren Minchington are other options, while Dylan Moore, Morris, who's impressed in his debut season, or Ross could also come into calculations for the meeting with GWS.
If Hawthorn opts to add extra midfield depth instead, then Harry Jones appears to be next in line.
