Hawthorn veteran Grant Birchall has yet another setback as he attempts to return to fitness following a long battle with a knee injury.
The 30-year-old has only played five games in the past two seasons as issues with his right knee continue to plague him.
He recently underwent another surgery on the knee to remove some floating cartilage.
The Hawks are confident he will be back running in January though the defender's continued struggles must be a concern.
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A veteran of 235 games and four premierships, Birchall didn't play a game in 2018 and is out of contract at the end of 2019.
Another luckless season could leave the Tasmanian without a club at the end of the year.
Birchall's troubles started in round seven 2017 when he injured the PCL in his right knee.
Two bouts of surgery followed in 2018 before an adductor issue prevented him making a late-season comeback.
Earlier this month, Birchall spoke to AFL.com.au about the difficulties of not being able to get on the park.
"It's challenging," Birchall said.
"It can be a bit of a lonely place being in rehab for a while, but you keep yourself occupied and you certainly learn a lot about yourself and a lot more about the guys, I guess.
"I enjoyed added responsibility being more of a leader (working closely with young defenders James Sicily and Blake Hardwick) and it was good in that way."
