LUCKLESS Hawk Changkuoth Jiath has suffered a fresh setback in his latest bid to return from the frustrating soft tissue injuries that have stalled his career in recent years.
The 24-year-old was set to play for Box Hill on Saturday in his first game since round nine last year, but was a late withdrawal following training on Friday.
Scans over the weekend revealed a minor quad strain that will rule him out in the short-term, with a timeline to become clearer this week.
Jiath had fully recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained in Hawthorn's intraclub at Waverley Park in February and had been given the green light to return to action early last week before the latest setback.
The Gippsland Power product has endured a frustrating run in recent years, managing only eight appearances in 2023 due to persistent calf and Achilles issues, following a stop-start campaign in 2022 where he managed 14 games.
Jiath returned to full fitness before Christmas and then travelled to Qatar during the break to spend time inside internationally renowned sports medicine facility Aspetar.
Hawthorn was hoping to regain the game-breaking defender/wingman as soon as this weekend, but will need to remain patient with Jiath given the complex nature of his soft tissue injuries.
West Coast star Elliot Yeo has only just emerged out the other side of a nightmare four-year patch where he was limited to 37 games in four seasons due to persistent groin and soft tissue injuries.
The 30-year-old won the Glendinning-Allan Medal in Saturday night's Derby 58 after finally getting his body right over the off-season, where he also visited Aspetar in Doha.
