Porplyzia dislocated his right shoulder in an attempt to tackle early in the first quarter of the club's 20-point win over Hawthorn last weekend.
The 26-year-old had surgery on Thursday and could spend up to six months on the sidelines, but Hart said the star goalkicker was holding out hope of playing again this year.
"I think Jason knew pretty much straight away, as soon as he did it [the injury], that something pretty ordinary was going on," Hart said on Thursday.
"He's devastated, as you would be, but at the same time he's still got a resolve about him because it's not necessarily [the end of] his season.
"It'll be a fair layoff, but we haven't written off the season and in his mind, he hasn't either. I haven't done the maths properly, but if it's six months, he could be back around finals time if we happen to make it.
"It's a small chance and it's a bit of a wait-and-see approach for the first few weeks."
Porplyzia dislocated the same shoulder in round 15, 2008, but returned to the field to kick five goals in a match-winning performance against the Sydney Swans two weeks later.
The classy forward added another two games to his tally in '08, but the injury made him a liability and he eventually ruled himself out of the Crows' elimination final against Collingwood.
Hart said Porplyzia had briefly considered playing with the injury again this season.
"I think it [playing on] went through his mind, but at the same time he remembered what it was like to go through having it pop in and out all the time," Hart said.
"It was a fantastic effort when he did it [in 2008], but it was hell for him with the pain. He thought about it, but I think he's thinking more long-term for his future in the game as well. It's better to get it fixed properly and go from there."
Despite having a history of shoulder injuries, Porplyzia didn't have the joint strapped prior to the clash with Hawthorn.
Hart denied strapping would've prevented the injury and said he expected the former rookie to make a full recovery from his latest bout of surgery.
"You're always susceptible [to re-injury] having had the injury before, but the surgeons these days do a really good job," he said.
"A lot of guys have done it [had shoulder reconstructions] and played through and had really good careers. Hopefully, the same goes for Jason."
The Crows will also take a cautious approach to Kurt Tippett's recovery from an ankle complaint.
Tippett missed the win over Hawthorn and didn't train with his teammates at AAMI Stadium on Thursday.
Hart was hopeful the key forward would be available for the club's next game against Fremantle in round three.
"Kurt came out of the 'moon boot' earlier in the week and has started doing a little bit of work," he said.
"He didn't train today, but did some more work inside, so it's a little bit of a softly, softly approach with him. He'll need to train and train fully next week if he's a chance."
Onballer Brent Reilly (chest) was also injured in the game against the Hawks, but trained on Thursday and isn't considered in any doubt to take on Fremantle.
Kurt Tippett is a $260,500 forward/ruckman in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.
