HAWTHORN might have to continue its finals push without one of its major weapons, with ruckman Ben McEvoy facing time on the sidelines because of a fractured cheekbone.

McEvoy, who was one of Hawthorn’s best in the 63-point defeat of the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, went straight to hospital on Saturday night after a clash with Dogs midfielder Josh Dunkley.

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"We can’t fudge anything with this one," coach Alastair Clarkson said after the match.

"A fractured cheekbone will be the diagnosis and he’ll miss whatever weeks are required to get it fixed.

"When the doc says you need to get into an ambulance and get to hospital, you’re going to miss some games, which is unfortunate because I thought he was quite influential tonight and has played some good games of footy over the course of the year."

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Indeed, McEvoy has been in career-best form for the Hawks and on Saturday night had the better of Tom Boyd in the ruck and was excellent around the ground.

The Hawks are in the midst of a winnable stretch of games, but will come up against in-form Brisbane ruckman Stefan Martin at the University of Tasmania Stadium next Saturday.

Jon Ceglar, who is back playing good footy, will likely assume the No.1 ruck role next week, while the Hawks will have to choose between back-up ruckman Marc Pittonet, who hasn’t played since round 23, 2016, or Tim O’Brien, who plays forward but can pinch-hit in the ruck.