HAWTHORN midfielder Jordan Lewis will resume running next week as he overcomes a strained calf muscle.

Lewis, who was one of the standouts on the track before Christmas, suffered the injury at training last week.

His duties were restricted at Friday morning's session in heavy rain at Pakenham, but teammate Brad Sewell said Lewis was improving.

"He's coming along. He strained it a little bit last week but is recovering really well," Sewell said.

"He'll start running certainly next week and be back with the main group shortly after that. He's not far away at all."

Rick Ladson and Xavier Ellis have rejoined the main sessions and appear to be moving well following hip operations.

The Hawks were hampered by injuries over the last two pre-seasons, but their rehabilitation group is considerably smaller this year.

Key players such as Lance Franklin and Shaun Burgoyne have enjoyed uninterrupted preparations.

"In terms of injury and the amount of guys we've had training on the track, we're in a good position," Sewell said.

"We'll continue to pull guys out of that group and they'll join the main group for skills as we get closer to games.

"I think everybody is up and about and training well at this time of year and we need that to make sure we get off to a good start to the year."

Youngsters Shane Savage and Liam Shiels are entering their third year at the Hawks and have made considerable ground in the off-season.

Sewell expected both to play more senior football in 2011.

"There's that group of younger guys ... once they get two, three or four pre-seasons under their belt they really start to work out their bodies and their training intensity steps up," he said.

"Both of those guys in particular are moving really well."

Another third-year player looking to add to his tally of 24 senior games is key defender Ryan Schoenmakers.

Drafted as a forward, Schoenmakers has spent most of his career in the backline.

However, he could feature in a new offensive structure. The 20-year-old has been training with the forwards, and may allow Franklin to play deeper in attack.

"He's one of those guys who can almost play any line on the ground. We've certainly played him on the wing as well and he's played down back, so he's really important and super versatile," Sewell said.

"It'll depend on how we're going [with] team dynamics and the forward line structure. He (Franklin) is another one of those guys who's got the ability to play up the ground and is very good close to goal as well."