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Hawthorn have been hit by further injuries in a costly pre-season intra-club match, that could have already cruelled the club’s bid to return to finals in 2024 for the first time in six years.
Running defender Changkuoth Jiath has been confirmed to have suffered a hamstring injury after limping from Waverley Park on Thursday morning; while mere minutes later, key back James Blanck was carried off after appearing to injure his knee.
It was later confirmed Blanck had suffered a dreaded ACL tear to rule him out for the season. Jiath will be sidelined for six to eight weeks, the club said.
Both players were visibly dejected as they made their way off, according to reports from the ground, with former North Melbourne great David King describing the match as a ‘horror session’.
“The whole session has stopped, this is awful,” King said of Blanck’s knee injury on SEN while reporting from Waverley.
“It could be another season-ending injury that occurred on the far wing… the game stopped, the whole thing has stopped.
“He’s getting up and being carried off, the medics have got to him now. It’s a left knee injury.”
The pair will add to what is a sizeable injury toll for the Hawks out of the pre-season, with star midfielder Will Day already ruled out of their Round 1 clash with Essendon due to a foot stress fracture, while small forward Dylan Moore is in doubt having been diagnosed with glandular fever earlier in the week.
Channel 9 reporter Joshua Dawe described the session as ‘carnage’.
Jiath has endured a frustrating run of soft-tissue injuries since a breakout 2021 season, managing just eight matches in 2023.
Hawthorn Head Doctor Liam West said subsequent scans confirmed Jiath will miss an extended period of time.
“Changkuoth was removed from the intraclub match after feeling some discomfort in his hamstring whilst sprinting,” West said.
“Unfortunately, scans revealed he has suffered a moderate-grade strain, which will now see him sidelined for at least the next six weeks.
“Given Changkuoth’s body of work over the summer months, including a recent trip to Qatar, we are confident he can make a full return to play in the early rounds of the season.”
Blanck, who made his AFL debut in 2022 after being taken in that year’s mid-season draft as a mature-aged rookie, played 15 games in 2023 to entrench himself in the Hawks’ back six.
The Hawks still have time to draft a replacement player in the pre-season Supplementary Selection Period, which ends on Monday, February 19.
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