HAWTHORN small forward Paul Puopolo has escaped with no more than bone bruising after injuring his left knee in Saturday's NAB Cup clash with Gold Coast, but Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans says his return date remains unclear.
Evans told SEN radio on Monday the Hawks were fearful Puopolo had seriously injured his knee when he landed awkwardly after a marking contest on Saturday night, but he had emerged without any ligament damage.
"I think when he went down we were all fearful, particularly the way he was holding that knee," Evans said.
"But he jogged himself off the ground and was walking around last night, so all of his ligaments are in tact.
"He's got some bone bruising that he'll need to deal with, but that's certainly a far better result."
When asked whether Puopolo would be fit for round one of the home and away season, Evans said it would depend on how his knee recovered over the next two weeks.
"I'm not sure about the severity of the bone bruising but that will really be determined by how it settles down," Evans said.
"Sometimes you can play straight away and sometimes you might need to miss a few weeks, so we'll see how that goes over the next couple of weeks."
Paul Puopolo is a forward in AFL Fantasy. He averaged 52 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy hub.
Nick Bowen covers Hawthorn news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
