Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has labelled suggestions that captain James Sicily isn't carrying an injury as "completely wrong", detailing the plan for his skipper's return in the coming weeks.
Sicily won't feature for the Hawks until Round 16 at least due to a hip/abdominal injury, meaning he'll miss the Hawks' two games against the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide prior to the club's mid-season bye.
The decision from the club comes as Sicily's battle with an ongoing issue has seen him regress over the past week, a likely factor in his drop in form this season.
Quizzed on the club's call to put a line through Sicily's selection for the next fortnight, Mitchell defended the decision and detailed the reasoning behind the call.
"We have management of lots of different players across the season," the Hawks coach said. "At no point has he ever been a chance to not play.
"(Suggestions that he's not injured) are completely wrong. At no point have we considered not playing him. It hasn't even been close to (that).
"There's injuries where (the discussion is) 'Is he going to get over the line? Is he going to be able to play this week?' He's been playing every game.
"He got something that we didn't expect. We've been tracking it, and it's been getting better each week; his numbers on the screen have been getting better each week. This week, he had a big regression.
"We need to get him right."
The Hawks remain hopeful Sicily will only miss the club's next two games, with the key defender to undergo the needed rest and management with a Round 15 bye scheduled.
Mitchell revealed the ailment his captain is carrying has been rare for the club, and will be one monitored closely by the Hawks.
"It's one of those things that are a little unpredictable. You don't see them that often," he added.
"We had one a couple of years ago, which settled down in a couple of weeks. But they can take a little bit longer.
"We're hopeful that the two weeks will be a maximum and that he'll probably play the third, we hope at this stage.
"At the other side of the bye, hopefully we get him back and he gets a bit of training. One of the downsides is he hasn't been able to train a lot. Not playing has never been a risk."
The Hawks will name their Round 13 lineup at 6:20 pm (AEST) on Wednesday ahead of their clash with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium the night after.
