Hawthorn is set to soon see boosts at both ends of the ground, with several injured stars progressing well in their respective rehabilitation programs.
After failing to lace the boots since Round 9 of last season, rebounding speedster Changkuoth Jiath has made a return to full training in the new year after making the trek to Doha to help aid Achilles, calf and groin complaints.
“There is some management still going on with him individually, but his body is really good and we're looking forward to implementing some of the knowledge Bart and CJ have brought back,” Hawthorn's High-Performance Manager Peter Burge told Hawks Media.
“The fantastic thing about this trip was that CJ was actually close to full training pre-Christmas, he was doing football drills and running flat out.
“We were able to go over there with him in peak condition. So he was able to train over there, be assessed biomechanically and do everything in his program, which was a real advantage.”
In a similar boat, veteran forward Chad Wingard is making his own strides from his own Achilles injury, with Burge claiming the recently re-rookied goalkicker was "going fantastically well".
“He's had three running sessions outside on the grass... in some ways he is learning to run again,” Burge stated.
“He's been working closely with our Rehabilitation Coordinator Jack Price who does a fantastic job, as do all our medical team.
“He's just happy, and it's fantastic for the group to see Chad out there again."
Elsewhere inside forward 50, key target Mitchell Lewis is on track to start ball work next week after progressing well from the foot and ankle injuries that brought his 2023 season to a premature close.
“Mitch had an ankle and foot issue last year, he went through a rehabilitation phase and returned in the end of November,” Burge said.
“He has worked really hard over Christmas, returned to the group and was back to full training.
“But then we were doing some match play earlier in the week and he stepped on someone's ankle in a contest and rolled his ankle laterally.
“It's a very short-term injury, he started running on Tuesday and I would expect he'll be back doing some drills again on the weekend or next Monday.”
However, it will be a slower road to return for reigning Peter Crimmins medallist Will Day, with the rising midfielder currently in a moon boot after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot upon resuming training in January.
"We since found out that he has a stress fracture in his foot which is really unfortunate, but in saying that, Will had a fantastic pre-Christmas period," Burge explained.
“He's in a moon boot now, and will be for a couple of weeks until we can assess further. He's non-weightbearing at the moment and we'll just keep updating everyone over the weeks in terms of his progression.”
Hawthorn will commence their 2024 campaign against old enemies Essendon on Saturday, March 16 at the Marvel Stadium.