Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell is expected to resume his coaching duties from next Monday, with the club great to return from the United States over the weekend after recovering from pneumonia.
Mitchell and his family were spending time in New York when the 41-year-old was hospitalised with pneumonia, forcing a delay to the coach's expected return to Waverley given his needed rest and recovery.
The club confirmed earlier this week that Mitchell's condition has improved, with the Hawks coach discharged from hospital and permitted to make his return to Australia.
Speaking to media, Hawthorn football boss Rob McCartney revealed Mitchell will return to the club next week but will not be working at full capacity for some time.
"We expect him to be back in our program early on Monday, he won't spend full weeks in our program initially when he gets back," McCartney said.
"When we get a line of sight and an eye on Sam we'll have a bit better of an indication as to where he is at.
"He was really unwell there for a few days, obviously in hospital during that Christmas period, so we're just ensuring that we take a phased approach with him coming back.
"We want him at 100 per cent fitness as quickly as possible instead of maybe coming back a little bit early and doing a little too much and having that linger for a while."
The Hawks have looked to their players and coaches to lead the way in their mentor's absence, with the club not needing to look far for experience from the latter.
Former Carlton, St Kilda and stand-in North Melbourne coach Brett Ratten has returned to Hawthorn ahead of the 2024 season after spending the past 12 months at Arden Street, while Hawks assistant David Hale also has experience in a senior role as a caretaker with Fremantle in 2019.
McCartney said the club has looked to share the workload in Mitchell's absence, putting "a lot more ownership" on its playing group.
"Over the last couple of years since Sam started coaching, we've built a really experienced and skilled team we've had periods (where we've been without Sam before) and we've found that we can manage without an interim senior coach," McCartney said.
"Particularly during this time of year when you're not playing games, we do a lot of planning pre-Christmas about what this first week looks like, so everyone knows what they're doing.
"We've put a lot more ownership back on our players to take some real control of our future, so it gives them a chance to step up as well."
Hawthorn are scheduled to face Essendon at the MCG to open their 2024 AFL campaign on Saturday March 16, while a pair of pre-season hitouts against the Western Bulldogs have been confirmed for February and March.
