Rising Hawthorn defender Will Day is set to have surgery on his fractured right ankle.
AFL Media reports that the 19-year old will go under the knife later this week after hobbling off the ground in Sunday's loss to Richmond at the MCG.
It is a cruel blow for Hawthorn just two rounds into the season, who will be without James Sicily (ACL) for the season, while Chad Wingard (calf) and Jack Gunston (back) have also been sidelined.
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Day is one of the Hawks' brightest young talents, averaging 15.6 disposals and 4.4 marks from 11 games last year in his debut season to finish fifth in the Rising Star Award.
Hawthorn yesterday confirmed Day would be sidelined for an indefinite period.
“We’ll investigate (Will’s injury) further over the next couple of days to work out the full extent of the injury," Hawks Physical Performance Manager Luke Boyd told the club website.
“What we can say now is that Will is going to miss a chunk of football with that ankle injury and he won’t be available to play this coming week.”
The club is expected to announce an official update on Day's status later today.
The sort of news we really hate tweeting.
Looking forward to seeing young Hawk Will Day back out there in the Brown and Gold as soon as possible.
— AFL (@AFL) March 30, 2021
AFL Media also reports that last year's Pick 6 Denver Grainger-Barras has escaped serious injury after hurting his knee in a VFL practice match on Sunday. The defender is only expected to miss around a month of action.
There is also good news surrounding Wingard, with the gun forward set to return from his calf issue in Monday's clash against Geelong.
The Hawks will be hoping to get their first win on the board in 2021 when they meet the Cats at the MCG on Monday at 3.20pm AEDT.
