TRIPLE All Australian forward Cyril Rioli is on track to return from injury for Hawthorn's round 13 clash with Adelaide at the MCG.

Rioli hurt the medial ligament in his left knee in the Hawks' 67-point win over Melbourne in mid-April and has already missed six matches.

A posterior cruciate ligament issue on the same knee ended the 28-year-old's season in round eight last year.

Hawthorn's high performance director Andrew Russell told the club's website that Rioli should be ready after the Hawks' round 12 bye.

He has played only one VFL match in his entire career – the 2014 state league Grand Final – so he will almost certainly be straight back in the AFL.

"He is edging closer," Russell said of Rioli.

"He's training fully and he just needs to get a couple of weeks of high-intensity skills under his belt, then we expect him to play after the bye."

James Cousins (concussion) was a late withdrawal last week, but Russell said the 20-year-old midfielder had recovered well since.

Kurt Heatherley played a bit over a half in the VFL after a long battle with an Achilles problem, while Dylan Moore (shoulder) and Changkuoth Jiath (groin) will also be ready after the bye.

Daniel Howe, who made a strong case for a senior recall in the VFL on Saturday, rolled his left ankle in the final term against North Melbourne's reserves and took no further part.

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