Hawthorn's No.1 ruckman Simon Taylor is out of action for four months after breaking his leg in the AFL practice match loss to North Melbourne.

It was a costly trip to Ballarat on Saturday for the Hawks - top midfielder Brad Sewell also suffered a broken collarbone.

Likewise, Melbourne are set to be without Daniel Bell and Liam Jurrah for the start of the premiership season after they came away from Saturday's tight loss to Adelaide with shoulder injuries.

Taylor went down early in the second term of Saturday's match at North Ballarat.

He initially tried to limp off the field with the assistance of trainers, but eventually needed a stretcher.

"Simon underwent surgery this morning (Sunday) to have a plate inserted to repair a fractured fibula," said Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans.

"Doctors have advised it will be two months until Simon can resume activity and it will be around four months until he will be available to play again."

Taylor and Sewell went to hospital in Ballarat on Saturday to have their injuries assessed.

Sewell returned to the Hawks rooms after the match with his right arm in a sling.

"He will have further assessment with a specialist later this week, and we will know more then, but he will miss the first few weeks of the season," Evans said.

The shoulder injuries to Jurrah and Bell come a week after Demons team-mate Cale Morton was put out of action for about two months with a knee injury.

Bell will need surgery after injuring the AC joint in his left shoulder during the first term of the two-point loss to the Crows at Elizabeth.

Jurrah also dislocated his right shoulder in the opening quarter and the highly-rated forward had scans on Sunday.

It is unclear how long Jurrah will be sidelined, but team-mate Brad Green suggested he might also need surgery.

"They are two fairly big losses for us, but we covered for them yesterday and hopefully we can cover for them for the start of the season," Green said.

"He (Jurrah) has never had an injury in his life and dealing with that, maybe dealing with surgery, is going to be something different for him.

"So we as a club have got to work with him, help him and get him through that."

One good development for Melbourne this weekend was Austin Wonaeamirri managing an hour of football in a Friday intraclub match at Casey.

Wonaeamirri did not play at all last season because of hamstring and knee injuries.

He and defender Col Garland, who missed nearly the whole season last year with a foot injury, are trying to return to the senior side.

"It's just fantastic having `Aussie' back," Green said.

"Col Garland, we're going to have him back this year.

"Hopefully Aussie gets in the side this week and gets a bit of fitness."

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