Prize Hawthorn recruit Shaun Burgoyne's long-awaited debut for the AFL club will have to wait as long as six more weeks because of a fractured jaw.

The 27-year-old former Port Adelaide premiership star sustained the injury in a head clash with Geelong's Max Rooke while playing for the Hawks' VFL affiliate Box Hill at Skilled Stadium on Sunday.

The skilful on-baller left the field after the second term collision bleeding from the mouth and with a loose tooth, but returned to play part of the final two quarters.

However, scans on Sunday night revealed a fracture under the tooth site, and a specialist on Monday told the club Burgoyne would need three to six weeks on the sidelines.

Burgoyne - traded from the Power last October - was playing his first VFL match after recovering from knee and hamstring injuries.

It continues a bad injury run for the club and their experienced recruits in particular, with ex-North Melbourne defender Josh Gibson and ex-Brisbane goalsneak Rhan Hooper both already sidelined by hamstring injuries, Gibson for three months.

But the Hawks expect captain Sam Mitchell will play against North Melbourne in Launceston on Sunday, despite being hurt in Saturday night's 64-point loss to Collingwood.

And tough midfielder Brad Sewell should play his first game for the season, after recovering from a pre-season collarbone injury.

Teammate Luke Hodge said the Hawks, coming off three straight defeats, needed to win more of the contested ball, which meant Sewell was likely to slot straight in to the senior side.

"I'd say so. Sewelly's got a natural fitness, he's a ball-hunter and that's something we were very disappointing in on Saturday night," Hodge said.

"Andrew Russell our fitness (coach) said he's been training very hard, so I reckon he'll come back in."

The Hawks dismissed speculation that Mitchell could be sidelined by a hamstring injury, despite finishing the Magpies clash on the bench.

The club said while he had his hamstring treated during the match, he returned to the field and it was an unrelated "knock" that resulted in him sitting out the last quarter.

"Sammy will be fine, he copped a knock during the game," Hodge said.

"But when you're down by 50 points, you're not going to risk Sammy in the last quarter."

Star forward Lance Franklin and youngster Liam Shiels are available after suspension.

Hodge said the thrashing by Collingwood hurt, after pushing Geelong and the Western Bulldogs hard over the previous two rounds.

"How we attacked it on the weekend wasn't Hawthorn-like," he said.

"Not winning the hard ball was not what we expect as a club."

But they expect to improve on their 1-3 record with a more favourable upcoming draw.

"It was always going to be a tough first four games ... if you look at our next month, we're confident that with the footy that we played in the first three games, coming in to the next couple weeks they're very winnable games for us."

Hawthorn play Essendon, West Coast and Richmond after the Kangaroos.

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