HAWTHORN expects injured premiership ruckman Brent Renouf to be back in time for the finals.

Renouf had surgery to remove his gall bladder after receiving a knee to the midriff during the Hawks' round 12 loss to Geelong.

With the club not putting a timeframe on his comeback, the 23-year-old has made slow but gradual progress in his recovery over the past two months.

However, positive signs in recent weeks have the Hawks confident Renouf will be available for selection within a fortnight.

"It's been slow at the start, and we always knew we'd have to be pretty cautious early, but the signs have been pretty good the last couple of weeks," Hawthorn football operations general manager Mark Evans told hawthornfc.com.au on Tuesday.

"He's gradually stepped up, and if that continues he'll play inside of a couple of weeks."

Evans reported that Coleman Medal leader Lance Franklin was "fine" after receiving a slight cork against North Melbourne on Sunday, while young wingman Shane Savage will have his shoulder tested later this week.

Savage has missed the past two matches after getting a heavy knock against Melbourne in round 18.

"We'd expect him to be far more improved this week than last week," Evans said of Savage.

"We've still got him listed as a test, but he's progressing pretty well."

Clinton Young has been out of action with an ankle complaint for a fortnight, and also faces a fitness test before the weekend.

"We'll see how he goes, but we think that he should be OK," Evans said.

Despite speculation, Evans said young defender Ben Stratton, sidelined since seriously injuring his knee against Richmond in round three, was still a little way off playing.

"He's still progressing through his skills and rehab, and the pleasing thing for him is that he's doing some more skill work, but he's still a bit shy of a return to footy," Evans said.

Uncapped youngsters Luke Lowden (thumb), Taylor Duryea and Mitch Hallahan (both ankle) have all undergone season-ending surgery with a view to being ready for the start of pre-season.

"Taylor had some ankle issues earlier in the year and he's managed it through most of the season, but he had an incident in his last game where he twisted it or someone fell across it," Evans said.

"Mitch's ankle has grumbled a little bit for the last month, so we thought it was time to get it fixed so he can prepare himself properly [for next season]."

Mark Macgugan writes for hawthornfc.com.au and covers Hawks news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mmacgugan