Luke Breust suffers serious knee injury as Hawthorn Hawks face AFL finals injury crisis

Hawthorn Hawks veteran Luke Breust suffered a suspected serious knee injury during VFL action with Box Hill on Saturday, September 13. The 34-year-old twisted his right knee underneath an opponent during a tackling attempt and was carried from the field by trainers, unable to bear weight on the injured leg.

Breust announced his retirement at the end of the current AFL season last month. The three-time premiership player has recorded 553 goals across 308 games during his 15-year AFL career with Hawthorn Hawks.

The two-time All-Australian served as the Hawks' substitute in their final three home-and-away AFL matches this season but was not selected for finals victories over GWS and Adelaide.


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Hawthorn Hawks face multiple AFL finals injury concerns

The Hawks defeated Adelaide by 34 points in Friday night's semi-final, securing their first AFL preliminary final appearance since 2015. Sam Mitchell's team will face Geelong at the MCG next Friday, September 19, for a spot in the AFL grand final.

Small forward Jack Ginnivan's availability remains uncertain due to a tight hamstring. Ginnivan's potential absence could have created an opportunity for Breust's AFL finals return before the knee injury occurred.

Star forward Jack Gunston is managing hamstring soreness, while rebounding defender Jarman Impey was hampered during the Adelaide match. Key forward Calsher Dear missed the semi-final with a hamstring strain, and Hawthorn Hawks have not established a timeline for his return.

Dear's replacement Mitch Lewis made minimal impact against Adelaide and was substituted from the AFL semi-final.

The Hawks will assess their injury list ahead of the preliminary final against arch-rivals Geelong, with multiple players battling fitness concerns.