HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson is confident Jaeger O'Meara will overcome his hip complaint in time to face St Kilda on Sunday.
O'Meara briefly left the ground in the second quarter of last week's come-from-behind win over North Melbourne, but returned to be one of the best players afield.
His only involvement in Thursday's training session was some basic handball and reaction drills at the start of it, then he watched from the sidelines before going inside.
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The 25-year-old was present for the Hawks' light 40-minute training hitout at Waverley Park on Friday, but will aim to prove his match readiness at Saturday's session.
Former captain Jarryd Roughead, as expected, will return from the corked thigh he sustained in a training collision with Chad Wingard last week that kept him out of the Roos clash.
Midfield stopper Dan Howe, who has played three VFL matches since returning from a hip-related layoff, is also in senior contention.
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"(O'Meara) copped a knock last week but so did (Luke) Breust and so did (Jack) Gunston and so did (Jarman) Impey and so did (Ben) McEvoy," Clarkson told reporters.
"So we've got five blokes who have all copped hits, but that's AFL footy.
"He's going to train tomorrow and give himself every chance to play, but that's the same with that other four as well and probably four or five others …
"Usually there are some bumps and bruises, and Jaeger had a knock last week that caused him to come from the ground for probably five minutes but he was able to play out the game.
"We've just had him on lighter duties, which he usually does, anyway, and hopefully he's able to train well tomorrow (Saturday) and get himself ready to play."
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Clarkson admitted post-game last Sunday to being "a little bit concerned" with his side's midfield depth sans Liam Shiels and Shaun Burgoyne, on top of Tom Mitchell's absence.
Losing O'Meara, too, would be a significant blow to an already-thin onball unit, with Clarkson saying they would not take "any risks" if the star midfielder wasn't right to go.
"They're going to have their work cut out this week against St Kilda," the coach said.
"That's (the midfield) probably one of the significant strengths of the St Kilda side … with (Seb) Ross and (Jack) Steven, if he comes back into the side and also (Jack) Steele, who plays a really good role for them.
"(Jack) Billings has been in really good form … the midfield battle's going to be crucial this week."
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Key recruit Tom Scully is a fortnight into his comeback from a serious ankle injury that sidelined him for a year, and his improvement continues to encourage Clarkson.
"He was better last week than what he was the week before and hopefully he'll be a little bit better this week," Clarkson said.
"When he actually gets to his peak and the premium of his running capabilities, I'm not too certain. It may be that he never can.
"I don't know, because of the severity of that ankle injury, whether he'll ever have the capacity he had previously, but we're excited to try and find out.
"We've seen over the course of the two weeks his progression, which suggests he's going to get there at some point in time."
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