Hawthorn Captain James Sicily has been ruled out of this Thursday night’s clash against the Western Bulldogs due to a hip/abdominal injury.

Sicily will miss at least the next two games, with the club on a bye following its Round 14 contest next week.

Head Doctor Liam West said the injury was never significant enough to impact his availability prior to last week, however, was aggravated in the game against Collingwood.

"Unfortunately, James' injury has flared up post the Collingwood game on Friday night after showing improvement in the weeks prior," West said.

“Having played every game this season, we were always looking to give James an extended break around the bye, so we’ve decided to bring this forward."