West Coast have had their worst fears realised with star midfielder Daniel Kerr, who faces at least three months on the AFL sidelines and surgery on his injured hamstring.

Kerr snapped his hamstring during the Eagles' 23-point win over Essendon in Perth on Friday night, though it was initially thought he may only miss four to six weeks.

But the club confirmed on Sunday that Kerr's injury was a similar one to the serious hamstring tears that have derailed St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt and Hawthorn's Josh Gibson over the past week.

"We were hopeful initially and our early prognosis was that it wasn't that bad, but sadly it is," Eagles spokesman Gary Stocks told AAP.

"It's going to be a 12-week recovery and it does require surgery."

Stocks said Kerr could have surgery to repair the hamstring as soon as Sunday, or in the next few days.

While Kerr's form had been up and down, he remains one of West Coast's most influential players and his loss for much of the AFL season is a massive blow for a side which has won just one of four matches to open the year.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn have played down an injury to skipper Sam Mitchell which forced him to the sidelines for the most of the second half of their thumping by Collingwood on Saturday night.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said Mitchell had been rested rather than risked, though post-match speculation was rife he had a hamstring or groin injury.

"Sam was just a little bit sore. He copped a pretty heavy knock, we were just a little bit mindful ... he's a pretty important player to us and the game was shot," Clarkson said.

"There's no point risking your important players in a game where you knew you were going to lose, so we rested him for the last quarter."

Hawthorn had better news with defender Xavier Ellis, who suffered a heavy head knock but was walking by the end of the match.

The Hawks are also a step closer to handing star recruit Shaun Burgoyne an AFL debut after the ex-Port Adelaide midfielder continued his recovery from injury with Hawthorn's reserves in the VFL on Sunday.

But forward Mathew Stokes rolled an ankle playing for Geelong's reserves in the same match - his first game since his banishment from the club over drugs charges.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP