HAWTHORN captain Sam Mitchell has thrown his support behind teammate Trent Croad as he fights to recover from a foot injury.

Croad played the latter part of the season with discomfort in his left foot before injuring his plantar fascia in the grand final against Geelong.

Wearing a moonboot, he completed light handball drills on Wednesday morning, in Hawthorn’s first training session since winning the premiership.

Speaking after training, Mitchell said he was confident Croad would recover from the injury.

“It’s fairly major surgery that he had but he’ll do everything right and give himself every chance,” Mitchell said.

“He’s as professional a bloke as you’d find in an AFL environment. He’s doing everything right, he’s walking around in his moonboot and has the whole off-season [to recover].

“He’s wearing his runners instead of his thongs and all those little things that are going to give him every chance to get back as soon as he can.”

Mitchell said the club felt a little different without the retired Shane Crawford, the only premiership hero not to return for 2009.

“The average age dropped down a bit without him. He was one of the most enthusiastic players,” Mitchell said.

“All the traits you associate with a young bloke, an 18-year-old kid that’s excited to be there, runs around and got a mouth on him and is a bit chirpy – they’re all the traits you associate with Crawf and he was the oldest bloke going around.”

But Mitchell said Crawford’s departure and Croad’s layoff gave a chance for some of the Hawks to step up and show their leadership skills in the week before their senior teammates returned.

“From all reports the young blokes were really loud and enthusiastic and enjoying training without some of the older guys looking over their shoulder. I think they probably learn a fair bit from a week like that so good for them,” Mitchell said.

“A bloke like Beau Muston has hardly played any footy because he’s had injuries most of the time. But he’s out there and one of the loudest blokes on the track and he’s teaching more senior blokes things. That’s where a little bit of the hole of Crawf and Croady not being out there is filled a little bit by a group of different young players.”