The Hawks have suffered a crushing blow to their already tested defensive stocks, with Denver Grainger-Barras sidelined for a lengthy period after suffering turf toe.
Hawthorn confirmed news of the injury on Tuesday morning, with Grainger-Barras undergoing surgery which will see him miss the next 12 to 14 weeks according to head doctor Liam West.
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“During an accidental incident, Denver injured his toe in the intra-club last Thursday with subsequent scans showing he has a significant turf toe injury,” West said.
“Following discussions as a medical team, alongside consultation with several specialists across Australia, it was deemed that the best course of action for Denver was for him to undergo surgery to help return him to play this season and protect the health of his toe in the long term.
“Having successfully undergone this procedure we are expecting to see him return to play in 12-14 weeks.”
The injury suffered by Grainger-Barras, the No.6 pick in the 2020 draft, only adds to the carnage from what dual premiership Kangaroo David King described on SEN as a “horror session” last week.
Hawthorn lost backman James Blanck to an ACL rupture in the same intra-club clash, which also resulted in rebounding defender Changkuoth Jiath being sent for scans for a hamstring issue.
Jiath’s hamstring strain was later revealed to be medium-grade, which would see him miss between six and eight weeks.
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Hawthorn assistant coach David Hale said Blanck’s serious injury was a “bit flattening” and made it hard for his teammates to get back into the swing of the intra-club hit-out.
“It was a bit flattening, the third period we changed teams, and that period of time I think everyone was thinking in the back of their mind about those two, which is always hard in a footy sense,” Hale said.
“It took a little bit of time to get them going again, and then that last quarter we saw a bit more of the footy we were after.
“It’s always hard when someone you know and (are) pretty close to gets injured in that situation.”
The injuries had already forced Hawthorn to add Box Hill VFL defender Ethan Phillips via the Pre-Season Supplemental Selection period.
Elsewhere, Hawthorn forward Dylan Moore was previously ruled out for at least one month after being diagnosed with glandular fever and is at risk of missing Round 1.
“We will ensure Dylan is managed safely according to his symptoms over the next few weeks before we map out his return to play timeline,” West said of Moore’s recovery.
“We don’t want to rush Dylan back, but we are hopeful he can bounce back quickly and return to training in the lead up to the start of the season.”
The Hawks will be without Will Day for the season opener, with the midfielder still in a moon boot as he recovers from a foot stress fracture that was discovered last month.
