Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says he won't be taking any chances with injured star Chad Wingard in preparation for the long months ahead in 2023.
On Monday the mercurial forward was ruled out of the Hawks' round two clash with Sydney on Sunday with a minor calf injury.
It came after Wingard left the ground in the third quarter of Hawthorn's loss to Essendon with cramping at the weekend.
Scans returned news of a low-grade calf strain with Mitchell and Hawks high performance manager Peter Burge both stating intent to carry out a "conservative" approach with the injury-prone Wingard.
The 29-year-old has a considerable list of soft-tissue injuries over his 204-game-career.
"The signs were quite minimal (on Sunday) given Chad's history. Medically it was decided just to take the conservative option and rule him out for the rest of the game," Burge said.
"He's since had scans and it's very, very low-grade calf strain, if you can call it that even.
"He won't play this week, but I would expect he'll be running by the end of the week and fully training next week and available for round three."
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday the Hawks' coach wasn't as convinced on a two-week turnaround, flagging a potential extra stretch on the sidelines.
Mitchell went on to manage expectations for Wingard's output over the season as a key piece of the club's plans in 2023.
"I don't think he's a player who's going to play 23 games, certainly not this year now. But if we can get 20 games or 18 games out of him across the season, I think from what we saw on the weekend, we will definitely take that," Mitchell said.
Wingard kicked 1.2, including an early fancy for goal of the year, before pulling up early.
Vintage Chad 😍#AFLHawksDons pic.twitter.com/pUhkRPC5Qc
— AFL (@AFL) March 19, 2023
"Not only is he exciting and he's great to watch, he's actually a great teammate and really helps us in the front half so he's going to be an important player for us," Mitchell said.
"We want to make sure when he gets back, he stays back.
"He'll be out for one, possibly two weeks…but I don't think it's going to be a long term one for him which is pleasing."
Sydney champion Lance Franklin will similarly be absent from the SCG on Sunday after copping a one-match suspension for a high bump on the Suns' Sam Collins on Saturday night.
