HAWTHORN star Chad Wingard could miss more than just this weekend due to a nasty calf injury, but young defender Jack Scrimshaw looks set to face St Kilda at the MCG on Sunday.
Wingard has suffered a deep calf cork and hasn't trained this week after being trodden on in the opening quarter of last weekend's one-point loss to Carlton.
The dual AFL All-Australian underwent scans at the start of the week, but the club won't know the extent of the injury until the bleeding subsides.
Wingard has experienced an injury-interrupted start to 2022, tweaking his ankle ahead of the AAMI Community Series, before being substituted out of round two with a hamstring issue.
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"There is a chance he'll just miss the one, but there's a chance it could be longer," Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell told reporters on Thursday.
"He had a scan after the game and pulled up quite sore. To be honest, there was so much blood in there we couldn't actually tell what was wrong with it specifically, so he'll have to have another scan next week to see what the actual damage is once the blood has got out of the area.
"He had a big stop mark down his calf, looks like there is some further damage but not sure at this stage. We'll have a better update next week."
The Hawks will continue to monitor Scrimshaw over the coming days, but he is expected to face the Saints at the MCG after passing a fitness test at Waverley Park on Thursday.
It was first feared the 23-year-old had fractured his scapula against the Blues and would spend a chunk of time on the sidelines, but he only suffered bad bruising on his shoulder blade.
"It looks like he is more likely. It has settled down really well. I think the original prognosis with the swelling was there might be a break in there. But no break at all, it looks OK. It's just about his function, so we're confident he should get up," Mitchell said.
After bringing young defenders Changkuoth Jiath and Will Day back from long-term injuries via Box Hill to start this season, the Hawks did the same with Jarman Impey last weekend following an interrupted pre-season due to foot and ankle issues.
Mitchell said the 26-year-old is a chance to return for the first time since round 14 last season, after banking some quality minutes at Box Hill City Oval on Sunday.
"He played three quarters at Box Hill. His running numbers were pretty strong – AFL-like in a VFL game. We've got match committee later on today, so he'll get through training and be available for selection.
"We've had two of these decisions. 'CJ' we had in round one and then we brought him in. Will Day we decided to give the extra week. We'll make a call on that later today."
Hawthorn has spent the week planning to stop in-form St Kilda star Max King on Sunday, although Mitchell wouldn't reveal whether he would send James Sicily, Sam Frost or Denver Grainger-Barras to the 2018 No. 4 pick.
King kicked four goals from seven shots in the final quarter of last weekend's win over Richmond, after kicking three goals in three minutes against Fremantle in round two, following large patches in games where he has been well held before putting the Dockers and Tigers to the sword when it mattered most.
"He is just so hard to stop for 120 minutes," he said.
"I think everyone wants to go and watch a guy like him go and play footy. Hopefully we're the team that can stop him for the whole four quarters because we know if he gets on the end of a few they are ending in goals. We've certainly got a plan for him."