HAWTHORN has been dealt a serious injury blow, with confirmation defender Grant Birchall will miss about a month after suffering a fractured jaw in Saturday's 24-point loss to Adelaide.

The 29-year-old received a stray elbow from Crows forward Tom Lynch early in the first quarter while competing for an aerial ball, but he managed to get through the full match.

Hawks football manager Jason Burt said Birchall would have surgery on Sunday to repair the damage.

"Grant had scans last night which unfortunately confirmed a fracture of the jaw," Burt told the club's website on Sunday afternoon.

"He will have surgery today and we will have a better idea on his timeline for return following that. At this stage, it is likely to be somewhere between three to four weeks.

"It's a disappointing result for Grant so early in the season, but he'll be doing everything he can to return to the field as soon as possible."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said Birchall was taken to hospital after the game.

"That happened in the first two minutes of the game, so he's pretty brave to continue on when he's got a facial injury," Clarkson said.

The winless Hawks have more injury concerns ahead of next Sunday's clash with Gold Coast, with vice-captains Isaac Smith and Liam Shiels receiving separate knocks against Adelaide.

Smith suffered an apparent corked left thigh in a collision with Crows defender Daniel Talia during the third quarter, while Shiels copped a knee to his hip pointer from backman Brodie Smith late in the same quarter.