Hawthorn midfielder James Worpel will be an injury watch ahead of Round 1 after being subbed out of Friday's match against Sydney with an ankle concern.
A tackle by Swan Brodie Grundy on Worpel in the second term of the Opening Round encounter left the latter in some pain, with the Hawks onballer seeking medical attention on the sidelines in the dying minutes before the main break.
Worpel was able to use the half-time intermission to gain further assessment on his ankle, with Hawthorn also waiting until the end of the break before pulling the trigger on their sub call.
Key defender Sam Frost was brought into the game for the start of the third term.
Even a low-end ankle injury could still see Worpel miss his side's next game against Essendon.
Coach Sam Mitchell said post-game that Worpel told him he was "alright", but was still unsure of the extent of the injury.
"All I know at this stage is ankle. I said (to Worpel), 'Is it one of those, okay in a couple of days or one of those six-weekers?', and he goes, 'I'll be right'," Mitchell said.
"He's always going to say that. I've got no idea, he's obviously hurt his ankle, but what type of injury I'm not sure just yet.
"... Hopefully he'll be back whether that's this week or not. He could play this week or he could be out for a fair while, I actually don't have an update yet.
"...If it's syndesmosis that always sounds bad, and that there can be six weeks or much longer. I hope it's not that, I hope he's just rolled his ankle."
A setback would add to a Hawks injury list that contains Mitch Lewis (knee), Changkuoth Jiath (hip), Calsher Dear (back), Sam Butler (leg) and James Blanck (knee).
All of Lewis, Dear and Butler have unknown return timeframes, while Blanck remains up to eight weeks away as he continues to recover from an ACL injury from last year. Jiath was listed as a test ahead of the club's clash with Sydney.
The Hawks are scheduled to face Essendon in a week's time for a Round 1 outing, their first in Victoria for the year.
