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Star Hawk eyeing off a surprise early return
Jaiden Sciberras • June 16th, 2025 2:16 pm
Hawthorn star midfielder Will Day has reportedly fast-tracked his recovery, with eyes set on a return far earlier than initially expected.
After suffering a stress fracture in his foot in early April, the 23-year-old was expected to miss 6-8 months, undergoing foot surgery to repair the fracture prior to Round 5.
With the Hawks remaining confident that the young star would return to the park before the end of the season, AFL.com.au reporter and SEN regular Josh Gabelich has revealed that Day could see the field as early as Round 20.
“Hawthorn is on its bye week,” Gabelich told SEN's Fireball.
“Will Day didn’t travel (to Tasmania). Since he went down in Round 3, he has spent most of the year on game day on the bench next to Brett Ratten, involved as a bench coach of sorts.
“He didn’t want to disrupt his rehab plans, so he’s stayed in Melbourne.
“He’s closing in on a return from this stress fracture in his navicular. Been looking at a Round 22 return, but I can tell you know now it’s closer to Round 20.
“There’s a real confidence that he’ll get back late in July.
“They play Carlton on a Thursday night in Round 20; the sooner they get him back the better at that time of the year because they want to get a long runway into finals.
“Three games would have been ideal, five is even better and that is a realistic proposition for them right now.
“Five games heading into September would be a great result given where he was at in April.”
Beyond Day, the Hawks could also see a potential return for key forward Mitch Lewis.
The 26-year-old has undergone extensive recovery from an ACL injury sustained last year, managing just four games across the season and last featuring in Round 17 of 2024.
“Mitch Lewis is the other one. Off the bye, the expectation is that he will play in the VFL,” Gabelich continued.
“It looks like they’re going to get two really important puzzle pieces back in the business end of the season.”
Following the bye scheduled over Round 15, the Hawks will head back to Tasmania to take on North Melbourne.
