CYRIL Rioli's season is in doubt after scans revealed the Hawthorn forward sustained a serious hamstring injury during Saturday's win over Gold Coast at Aurora Stadium.
The Hawks confirmed on Sunday that Rioli has injured the tendon in his left hamstring and will miss 8-10 weeks.
If the 24-year-old's rehab lasts the full 10 weeks, he will be available for selection for the second week of the finals.
Rioli was sprinting for the ball during the final quarter of the Hawks' win over Gold Coast at Aurora Stadium on Saturday when he felt a twinge in his left hamstring.
He finished the game on the bench with ice strapped to the back of his leg.
It's the same hamstring the Hawk injured against the Sydney Swans in round eight, which saw him spend three weeks on the sidelines.
Hawthorn football operations boss Chris Fagan said the star Hawk would not require surgery.
"Unfortunately scans have indicated that Cyril has sustained a hamstring tendon injury, which is more serious than we first anticipated," Fagan said.
"While he is understandably disappointed to be missing some footy, he is eager to begin his rehab with the aim of making a valuable contribution to the side again this season."
Earlier on Sunday, Rioli expressed optimism that his injury was at the lower end of the scale.
"It felt pretty similar to the one I did against Sydney. So fingers crossed it's the same [amount of recovery time]," he told the club's website.
"The leg is feeling really sore. After I iced up it seized it up a bit. I'm definitely going to ice up over the next few days and inspect the injury and hopefully I'll be back after the split round."
Rioli has been plagued by hamstring injuries over his career, missing two months last season after tearing his right hamstring.
In 2011 he was forced to alter his running action to help prevent more recurrences of the injury.
