HAWTHORN appears set to be boosted for Saturday afternoon's MCG clash with traditional rivals Essendon with the return of vice-captain Liam Shiels.

The Hawk onballer hurt his back against North Melbourne a fortnight ago, and wasn't able to get up in time to take on St Kilda in Launceston last weekend.

"He trained today and trained really well so there's a good chance he'll be available," high performance manager Andrew Russell told hawthornfc.com.au.

Shiels has been in good form this year, and led the Hawks with 31 possessions and 14 tackles when they beat Melbourne in round four.

With defender James Sicily back from suspension, the fourth-placed Hawks will take a strengthened team into Saturday's game, although it will mean some tough decisions at selection on Thursday afternoon after a sound win over the Saints.

More good news for Hawthorn is that after some false starts, ruckman Jonathan Ceglar will finally play his first game for 20 months in the VFL on Saturday.

The 24-year-old hasn't played at all since injuring his ACL against West Coast in round 22 2016 (the same game as Nic Naitanui), and had a delayed start to this year because of a back injury.

"He's looking great and is very excited,” Russell said. "We'll see him out there playing for Box Hill."

The Hawks are also reporting that small forward Paul Puopolo is recovering well from a hamstring injury suffered against the Demons and is expected to miss just two more matches.