JAEGER O'Meara is targeting a return in three to four weeks, with Hawthorn keen to immediately debunk speculation the midfielder's on-going knee problems will ruin his career.  

O'Meara has been sidelined since playing four of the Hawks' opening six games of this year, having played all three JLT Community Series games before that.  

It was a encouraging start to O'Meara's career at Waverley given prior to this year he had not played a senior game since rupturing his patella tendon in a NEAFL practice match in March 2015.  

However, the former Sun's inability to take the field since round six has fuelled speculation his knee will prevent him from reaching the potential that saw him win the 2013 NAB AFL Rising Star award.  

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson told SEN radio on Friday morning O'Meara's current injury was related to his pre-existing patella problems, but would not prevent him from becoming a significant on-field contributor for the Hawks.  

"He's back into a full training program and we're hoping he'll play in three or four weeks," Clarkson said.  

"We want him to play before the end of this year. I think that's good for him, I think it's good for our footy club that our supporters see that perhaps all this innuendo around whether he's ever going to play again and how he's going to be able to stand up (is baseless). I think it will be good for our supporters to see that his body's going to be OK.  

"He had a stress-related bone injury that really was just a reflection of him trying to put some load back into his body again, having not played for two years. We settled it down. We're delighted that it was something linked but not exactly the same as what he had before and so, in terms of his actual patella, we're really happy with how that's progressed over the course of the year.  

"But we're confident with a good pre-season he'll be able to play some good footy for us next year."