Hawthorn captain Sam Mitchell will miss his team's next two AFL games after undergoing surgery for a broken hand.

Mitchell had a plate inserted on Monday night following a slight fracture to his right hand suffered in Friday night's win against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG.

Hawks football manager Mark Evans said on Tuesday the decision to insert a plate was made after it became apparent that Mitchell would miss this weekend's match against Geelong.

Mitchell underwent surgery on Monday night.

"We had decided that inserting a plate was the best option as he would have missed this week's match anyway due to the fracture," Evans said.

"The plate will give him maximum strength around the fracture site and he is likely to only miss one to two weeks, depending on how it settles down."

Meanwhile defender Rick Ladson was due to be released from hospital on Tuesday after he was admitted over the weekend for observation following dehydration.

Ladson was a late withdrawal from Friday night's team.

But the Hawks could be lifted by the return of ruckman Simon Taylor from a broken leg.

Taylor will undergo a fitness test during training this week.

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