HAWTHORN ruckman David Hale says the club still doesn't know how much time injured defender Ben Stratton will spend on the sidelines.

Stratton ruptured the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his right knee during the third quarter of the Hawks' 63-point win over Richmond on Saturday night, and Hale said on Monday that surgeons are yet to decide whether to operate or not.

"It's a ruptured PCL and they're anything between four and 12 weeks I think. Hopefully he recovers quickly, but you can never tell with those things," Hale said.

"I think he was seeing the surgeon later this week and they'll decide from there.

"A lot of PCLs you can operate, but some of them just take time to heal."

The injury to Stratton was the only dampener on an impressive performance from the Hawks, and Hale said the team is right where it wanted to be at this stage of the season.

"We still think we've got a lot of improvement to come, but to be 2-1 after three rounds is something we set ourselves for," the former Kangaroo said.

"The trip to Adelaide (in round one) was always going to be a hard one, but we've come back the last two weeks and played pretty good footy."

The ruckman is looking forward to the challenge of taking on imposing West Coast Eagles duo Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui in Launceston this week.

"(The Eagles) have been very good," Hale said. 

"Dean Cox is in very good form, so that's my part of the field, and Nic Naitanui is obviously a pretty exciting talent as well.

"So it's going to be a pretty big task, especially in the ruck and in the middle.

"Hopefully we can break even with them and get enough ball forward to kick a big enough score."

The Hawks will need to find room in a winning line-up for Cyril Rioli, who will return from suspension, and Sam Mitchell, who was a late withdrawal for family reasons on Saturday night.

Hale said it's a positive to have competition for spots, with several new players also impressing at VFL level.

"It's good to have that pressure around, with blokes playing well underneath," Hale said.

"(But) I'm sure they'll be able to find a slot for those two (Mitchell and Rioli)."

Hale said Thomas Murphy, Kyle Cheney and Paul Puopolo are all in contention to replace Stratton in the Hawks' back six.