Hawthorn felt the full force of what a deep injury list can bring during its Round 17 demolition at the hands of Melbourne in Tasmania.
Missing the likes of Jarman Impey, Josh Battle, Nick Watson, Karl Amon, Ned Reeves, Conor Nash and Jack Scrimshaw, the Hawks were put to the sword early as they fell behind by 96 points in the third quarter before a late comeback.
For Round 18's match with Carlton at the MCG on Saturday night, Hawthorn will likely welcome back Watson, Impey and Amon who are all tests.
Battle will be at least one more week on the sidelines as he recovers from having his appendix removed, Scrimshaw is listed as four to six weeks away with his knee injury, Reeves (knee) is said to be one to three weeks away, while Nash's return remains unknown as he recovers from a nerve injury in his neck.
Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch will be a watch as he recovers from a dislocated finger he suffered at the weekend.
Demons high performance manager Selwyn Griffith gave an update on the in-form star.
“Bayley sustained a dislocated finger during Round 17 but was able to complete the game,” Griffith said.
“He has since had the wound stitched, and as a result of that, will be restricted to non-sweating activity in the early stages of this week such as limited ball work.
“We'll reassess his availability following our main session later in the week.”
Richmond has listed midfielder Dion Prestia, ruck Oliver Hayes-Brown and key forward Thomas Sims as tests to play this weekend.
Meanwhile, former number one draft pick Sam Lalor's return from an Achilles injury is expected to be Round 20.
Luckless midfielder Josh Smillie's return is expected to come between rounds 20 and 22 as he recovers from a quad injury.
