At least five Hawks will miss the opening round clash with Adelaide on Saturday.

Hawthorn will be without Chad Wingard (calf), Tom Scully (ankle), Darren Minchington (hamstring), Grant Birchall (calf) and last season’s Brownlow medalist Tom Mitchell (leg).

Premiership defender Birchall is dealing with a minor setback, Hawthorn physical performance manager Luke Boyd said.

“Grant’s been in the skills program for about four weeks now, but he has a minor calf issue at the moment,” Boyd said.

“Unfortunately when you’ve been out of the game for a long period of time, sometimes these things pop up, so we’ll manage him over the next couple of weeks.”

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New recruit Scully is expected to return within two-to-three-weeks.

“I’m feeling pretty well at the moment,” Scully told hawthornfc.com.au.

“The last couple of months have been really positive in my rehab phase.

“The prospect of being back playing in a couple of weeks is very exciting.”

Vice-captain and former Crow Jack Gunston is recovering from ITB soreness but is expected to play.