HAWTHORN will be without Changkuoth Jiath and Mitch Lewis for a third straight week, with the young guns both ruled out of Saturday night's clash against Essendon at Marvel Stadium.
The pair haven't played since the Hawks' stunning win over Geelong on Easter Monday, missing losses against Sydney on Anzac Day and Melbourne on Saturday night.
The club has opted to take a conservative approach with Jiath after rescanning his hamstring earlier in the week and deciding he isn't quite ready to return.
MEDICAL ROOM Check out the full injury list
Lewis is dealing with a non-COVID related illness this week that will keep him away from training, preventing him from completing his recovery from the hamstring tightness that has ruled him out for the past fortnight.
It is a blow for Sam Mitchell's side, given both Jiath and Lewis had made fast starts to 2022 at opposite ends of the ground.
Jiath averaged 20.6 disposals per game across the first five rounds, while Lewis has kicked 15.6 and averaged seven marks a game this season.
The return of young ruckman Ned Reeves - who has also missed the past fortnight with a dislocated shoulder - still remains unclear a fortnight after he exited Easter Monday before quarter-time.
The club is still waiting to see if the 23-year-old can regain his range of motion and strength before they head down the surgery path, which would all but end his season.
It is understood that Reeves will most likely require a shoulder reconstruction at some point, but the club remains hopeful he can build up his strength in the next few weeks and play the second half of the season.
With captain Ben McEvoy sidelined with a neck injury, Mitchell has used recruit Max Lynch in the ruck across the past fortnight, but Reeves is regarded as the No.1 option when fully fit.
Irishman Conor Nash hasn't been ruled out of the clash against Ben Rutten's side just yet, after injuring his quad on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old has been picked every week under Mitchell, before he was substituted out of the narrow loss to Melbourne.
Nash was cleared of a quad strain by scans earlier in the week and will need to prove his fitness at Wednesday's main training session.
Wingman Tom Phillips is expected to spend the next two months on the sidelines after undergoing ankle surgery.
The former Magpie suffered an injury at training ahead of round six and is now going to miss a large chunk of the campaign.