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Hawthorn have struck trouble after an impressive start to the season, with James Sicily banned and Shaun Burgoyne hamstrung.
Match review officer Michael Christian offered Sicily a one-match ban on Tuesday for kneeing Geelong skipper Joel Selwood.
The club will consider whether to challenge the finding at the tribunal on Wednesday evening.
Burgoyne, who has been exceptionally durable late in his 343-game career, will miss about three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter of the Hawks’ one-point win over the Cats on Easter Monday.
“He doesn’t have a history of hamstrings so we expect it to settle down well,” performance manager Andrew Russell said.
Burgoyne hasn’t missed a game since round 18 of the 2013 season.
Sicily’s incident occurred in the final term at the MCG and was assessed as intentional conduct with low impact to the head.
Footage of the incident shows Sicily tackling Selwood to the ground then dropping his left knee into the Cats star’s head.
Selwood later admitted he wasn’t happy with the treatment at the time.
He exchanged words with Sicily after the final siren at the MCG but the pair then shook hands.
Hawthorn vice-captain Isaac Smith spoke to reporters before the match review findings were announced and backed Sicily’s passionate approach to the game.
“Sis plays with a lot of passion … arguably Hawthorn’s best captain ever (Luke) Hodge played with a fair bit of passion as well,” Smith said.
“It’s a game that you’ve got to play close to the line and sometimes blokes will step over it and sometimes they won’t.
“I think the fans love seeing passion, aggression and spirit out on the field.
“Whatever happens happens but we’re confident that the 22 we put out next week will be fine.”
The Hawks face reigning premiers Richmond at the MCG on Sunday, with the Tigers coming off a loss to Adelaide.
After finishing outside the finals last season, Alastair Clarkson’s undefeated Hawks sit in fourth place after two rounds.
“The vibe is always better when you’re winning … we started last year really slowly and it was an uphill battle to make finals,” Smith said.
“We’ve started well and now we’ve just got to keep going and build on that.”
Premiership defender James Frawley was a late withdrawal against the Cats with a foot injury but is expected to return this weekend.
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