Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says the six-day turn-around counted against injured defender Stephen Gilham ahead of Saturday's AFL match against Port Adelaide.

The premiership backman is the latest casualty in Hawthorn's ongoing bad run with injuries at the start of the season.

He returned from a knee injury last Sunday against North Melbourne, but the knee has since become swollen and the Hawks will not risk him.

Fellow premiership players Grant Birchall and Xavier Ellis were also injured in the game, but the Hawks have also regained Robert Campbell, Jordan Lewis, Brad Sewell and Simon Taylor.

"We thought we were on the verge of seeing a little bit of blue sky at the end of last week, knowing these three or four were going to be available this week," Clarkson said.

"But we got another three injuries out of the game.

"It's only a six-day turn around, Gilham has got a bit of swelling on his knee, with such a short turn-around we just wanted to make sure that settled fully."

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