HAWTHORN star Jarryd Roughead is on the cusp of returning for Saturday night's blockbuster against the Sydney Swans, with only a final check-up to tick off before he's cleared to make his comeback from a cancer scare.

But James Frawley has been ruled out of the clash, with the key defender still battling soreness from a dislocated shoulder.

Scan results were good, says Roughead

Roughead had surgery to remove a melanoma from his bottom lip two weeks ago and has missed wins over Collingwood and Fremantle waiting for the scar to heal.

But the 193cm triple-premiership player has been back in training since last week and travelled to Tasmania to watch the Hawks dismantle the Dockers by 72 points on Sunday.

Speaking to the club's website, general manager of football operations Chris Fagan said Roughead would seek the all clear to play from specialists on Tuesday afternoon. 

"A little bit depends on what they say as to whether or not he'll be available to play on the weekend, or whether he needs to take another week for that lip to heal," Fagan said. 

Hawthorn will know by Thursday at the latest if Roughead and Taylor Duryea, who hurt his shoulder attempting to spoil Dockers forward Chris Mayne on Sunday, are available for the trip to Sydney. 

"(Duryea) had a bit of a bang on the shoulder, nothing serious, no structural damage," Fagan said.

"We just need to wait and see how he trains later in the week. It's one of those things that we're not sure of at this point in time. Fingers crossed - he's been in great form - that he'll be right to play." 

Frawley produced his best performance for the Hawks in a four-point loss to the Swans in round eight, keeping Lance Franklin scoreless. 

But the 26-year-old's run of misfortune will see him miss his seventh game for the season this weekend. 

"He's making steady progress. He's just got that last little bit of soreness to get out of his shoulder," Fagan said.

"It's not quite there yet, he won't be available this week, but maybe he's a chance the week after." 

The fourth-placed Hawks have upcoming clashes against Carlton, Richmond and West Coast in a challenging month ahead.

But Fagan said the focus was firmly on beating – and overtaking – the Swans in third spot on the ladder.

"It is a big game for all sorts of reasons, not just for top four but for top two. It's the same for Sydney so it will make for a great clash," he said.