Dan Howe is a chance to play in this Sunday's match against the Demons, despite leaving the ground clutching his shoulder in the fourth quarter of Hawthorn's Round 4 loss.

“He actually got a hit to the sternum and irritated one of the joints on the side of the sternum," explained Physical Performance Manager Luke Boyd.

“He’s now starting to settle, but as with any of these contact-based injuries we need to see how he progresses later in the week, so at this stage he’ll be a test to play."

In exciting news, Jack Gunston is now only one to two weeks away from his awaited return, nearing the end of his rehab period following back surgery.

"Jack's starting to build up his training loads," Boyd said.

"He had a really good session last Friday with some good volume, some good speed and some footy work, and the plan is to step it up this week and see where he's at following that session.

"We don't expect that Jack is too far away."

Denver Grainger-Barras is tracking well in his knee rehab, however is expected to be sidelined for a further six to eight weeks as the Hawks take a cautious approach with the talented first-year.

And Hawthorn fans will be thrilled to know that Jaeger O'Meara's pearly whites have been restored, after the midfielder had his missing tooth replaced on Monday.

Read: Hawks to contest Beyond Blue Cup

Hawthorn's injury list:

Dan Howe - sternum - test

Jack Gunston - back - 1-2 weeks

Denver Grainger-Barras - knee - 6-8 weeks

Will Day - ankle - indefinite

James Sicily - ACL - indefinite

Seamus Mitchell - ankle - indefinite