Double blow: Cyril, Puopolo hit for six

HAWTHORN duo Cyril Rioli and Paul Puopolo have both been ruled out for up to six weeks in a major blow for the resurgent side.

Rioli received a knock to the knee midway through his side's clash with Melbourne on Sunday and spent the rest of the afternoon on the bench, with scans later confirming a medial ligament injury.

"We had a really challenging day on the injury front," director of high performance Andrew Russell told the club's website.

"Cyril has a moderate grade medial injury.

"It is on the same side as his PCL last year … but it's not related at all.

"It looks like it's probably in the five to six-week range at this stage."

Puopolo limped from the ground during the third quarter with a hamstring strain that also will rule him out for an extended period.

"He's probably pulled up a fraction better than we thought he would have," Russell said.

"He's got a decent hamstring strain and he's going to miss four to six weeks."

Rioli's bad news came just four games into his return from the knee injury that prematurely ended his 2017 season  in round eight.

Puopolo also had an injury-interrupted season last year with groin and adductor issues restricting him to 15 games.

The Hawks are hopeful veteran Shaun Burgoyne (hamstring) will return for their round six clash with St Kilda.

Hawthorn, which sits fourth on the ladder with a 3-1 record, meets North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium this Saturday.