HAWTHORN'S boom recruit Jaeger O'Meara may face several weeks on the sidelines with another bout of knee soreness.

O'Meara was a late withdrawal from the Hawks' clash with Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, replaced by fellow midfielder Will Langford.

Hawthorn's football operations manager Jason Burt revealed the club was "hopeful" the issue would be resolved soon to allow O'Meara the chance to work his way back to full fitness.

Burt also reiterated the Hawks' "absolute confidence" that the ex-Sun would return to play "consistent, sustained football" for the club.

"Jaeger was feeling great going into last week's clash (with St Kilda) but unfortunately, despite us giving him every opportunity to get up for today's match, he still has some soreness around his knee," Burt told the club website on Sunday afternoon.

"Fortunately, the irritation is still in relation to the knock he received in round two and separate from the problems Jaeger has faced in the past.

"We have said all along, given his history, we will take a cautious approach.

"We are hopeful the soreness will settle relatively quickly and then it will be about ensuring that Jaeger has a solid block of conditioning before he comes back into the side.

"Both Jaeger and the club want to ensure that he is feeling 100 per cent for a period of time before he returns to senior football.

"We have absolute confidence that Jaeger will play consistent, sustained football for the Hawks. 

"We want to ensure that he steps onto the field with that same confidence, and that means giving him the time to get a solid block of training and conditioning under his belt before he returns again."