Hawthorn captain Ben McEvoy has been withdrawn from this weekend’s clash with Carlton after suffering a neck injury.
The Hawks confirmed McEvoy suffered the injury while training on Thursday, however it won’t require surgery.
The skipper has not had a timeframe placed on his return, with club doctor Liam West implying the injury could be long-term.
“Once healed, this will have no impact on Ben's ability to play football moving forward and at this stage we expect him to return to the team in the back half of the season,” West said in a club statement.
“We’ll continue to assess Ben throughout his recovery following further specialist advice.”
McEvoy himself spoke about picking up the fracture in his neck, adding he was “pleased” the injury should heal without complications.
“I was pretty sore straight after, then yesterday afternoon went to get some scans,” McEvoy said.
“It has been confirmed that I’ve got a small fracture in one of the lateral bones in my neck, but it’s all stable and safe.
“I’m going to have some time out of the game while that heals, but I’m really pleased that I’m going to make a full recovery with no ongoing complications.”
Hawthorn’s clash with Carlton shapes as one of the most interesting of Round 3, both teams undefeated and looking to stake their claims as genuine top eight teams.
Jaeger O’Meara will captain the side in McEvoy’s absence.