HAWTHORN'S Chad Wingard is set to miss multiple matches after suffering another soft tissue injury in Saturday night's loss to Brisbane.
Wingard left the field with a hamstring problem in the 19-point defeat and took no part in the final quarter.
It continues a rough start to his career with the Hawks after a calf injury curtailed his pre-season and kept him out of the first two rounds.
LIONS HUNT DOWN HAWKS Full match coverage and stats
Coach Alastair Clarkson said Hawthorn would know the full extent of Wingard's problem sometime in the next week.
"We'll wait and see," Clarkson said.
"The bye next week will help, but if he's got a soft tissue he'll probably miss games, but I'm not sure of the severity of it.
"I didn't even see it happen."
Chad Wingard gets the Hawks on the board early.#AFLLionsHawks pic.twitter.com/LieJtz153l
— AFL (@AFL) June 1, 2019
Following the bye, the 5-6 Hawks play Essendon, Sydney and West Coast as they search for consistency and a chance to play finals.
After establishing a 29-point lead during the first quarter against the Lions, Hawthorn was thoroughly outplayed for most of the night, despite hanging in on the scoreboard.
Clarkson said they were "spluttering" as a side and would take the week off to lick their wounds.
WATCH Alastair Clarkson's full post-match media conference
"I thought for the greater part, the last two thirds of the game, Brisbane were the superior side and we just couldn't get the game played on our terms," he said.
"We're five and six, we're middle of the road.
"We're in that next stage where we're trying to find that next group of players that can win us some silverware and seriously challenge."
Clarkson said young players such as Mitch Lewis, James Worpel and James Cousins would continue to get games.
Worpel had a team-high 25 disposals and Lewis kicked two goals, although a costly miss midway through the final term that could have cut the deficit to a single point proved costly as Brisbane raced the other way to kick a goal and give itself some breathing space.
"What keeps holding us back is we can't get consistency from one quarter to the next, let alone one game to the next and that's what we've got to work on."
Lovely finish from James Cousins!#AFLLionsHawks pic.twitter.com/kvdqXnUDsj
— AFL (@AFL) June 1, 2019