Plagued by knee injuries throughout his career, Davidson was knocked to the floor during the second quarter of last Sunday’s 75-73 road win over Sydney.

After initially fearing he had done something serious, the 32-year-old centre managed to finish the game without too much discomfort.

But he was limping half an hour after the game and was unable to train this week.

Davidson didn’t travel with the team to Townsville for Friday’s clash with the Crocodiles and his chances of playing in Sunday’s season finale against the 36ers are slim.

‘‘I’d say not likely at the moment but I’m hoping another day or two helps it,’’ he said on Friday.

‘‘It’s nothing major, just bone bruising and swelling, but it doesn’t feel real nice. I did some shooting and running this morning and it just didn’t feel good. I’ll do [team] shoot-around on Sunday morning and see how it feels after that, and then decide what to do for the game.’’

It was clear by the look on Davidson’s face that he thought the worst in those first moments after he landed heavily.

‘‘I knew I’d done something and I was sure it was bad, but then it sort of settled down quickly,’’ he said.

‘‘I was still warm and the adrenaline was going and I was able to get through the game. It got pretty stiff and sore after the game and the next day.’’

Davidson remains hopeful he will play some part in Ballinger’s final game. But he has learned to live with the frustration that comes with injuries and won’t fret over something he can’t control.

‘‘I guess at this stage of my career I’ve had a lot of experience at dealing with disappointment through injuries,’’ he said.

‘‘I used to get angry about these things but now I kind of accept it as part of the job.

‘‘I’ve had a couple of seasons when I’ve finished injured, and regardless of how the season’s gone, it’s always nice to play the last game, especially when it’s a home game and it’s Balls’s [Ballinger] last game.’’

The Hawks will finish at the bottom of the ladder for only the second time in the club’s 36 years.

They had won three of their past four games before taking on the Crocs and are eager to head into the off-season with a win.

‘‘The last four weeks we’ve played really well, and that was what we were searching for all year,’’ Davidson said.

‘‘To see that it each other’s eyes, where you feel like and know you’re going to win, it’s almost worth going through the hard slog we went through this season just to find it. It would’ve been disappointing if we’d finished the year and never found it. There’s been a consistent effort all season to try and make it work. We never gave up. We kept working at it and the last few weeks has been our reward.’’