The Hawks were dealt a devastating blow on Monday with scans confirming Brooks' season - and possibly career - is over after rupturing his achilles in Sunday's loss to Perth.

Boone's future at the club was also called into question as he sat out the game with a broken nose he'd carried through a mask in losses to Adelaide and New Zealand.

It saw rumours he was unhappy at the club do the rounds but he completed a full grueling team session on Wednesday and is expected to play against the Bullets in Canberra.

"We definitely expect to have him back this week," Flinn said.

"Josh himself felt that he came back a little bit too early and that had an impact on his confidence. The decision was made to allow him to get that extra time to heal.

"It's nothing more than that. Today was his first session back doing full contact and he looks ready to go."

Flinn did admit the pair have shared some frank discussions, but no more than the rest of the roster as it looks to turn the tide after a 1-6 start to their campaign.

"We've had a pretty hard look and reflection with all of them and Josh, like any other player in our position, hasn't escaped a pretty extensive critique," Flinn said.

"Josh himself would tell you he's been down a little bit. I brought him in to do a few things, run the floor hard, defend the pick and roll, rebound and lead.

"He'd probably agree he hasn't quite got there yet but I'm not pointing the finger at him at all for where we're at. We've got to take collective responsibility, coaches included.

"We've got a great working relationship, we've got an honest one, and I know we're going to see the best from him moving forward."

While Boone is set to return the Hawks will likely remain an import down heading into the showdown with the Bullets, with the Hawks unlikely to lock down a replacement before the trip to the capital.

The club will look at players in all positions, including athletic swingmen, but a shooting guard remains top of the list. It's a wide search but Flinn says the rise in profile brought by Brooks and NBA Draft aspirant LaMelo Ball could play in the club's favour.

"If you look at our performances and where we sit in certain areas there'd be a few positions you could look at to help us stiffen up the spine a little bit," Flinn said.

"Obviously we're going to need scoring and leadership in the back-court so that's probably the priority at the moment to look in that area.

"We're not short of people wanting to come here and play. There were two million people who watched us play against New Zealand the other night so a lot of guys view this as an opportunity.

"We've got a shortlist of guys, I'm just waiting for things like budget and other things. I haven't much sleep in the last 48 hours but we're definitely looking to bring someone in as quick as we can."

The search for an on-court replacement may be on in earnest, but Flinn said it's unlikely anyone can fill the void the 675-game NBA veteran brought on and off the floor.

Read more: Blow for Illawarra as Brooks injury confirmed

"I'm devastated for him, we've had a great relationship right from the time I started talking to him in the US," Flinn said.

"We've been in every game this year apart from two, the [first] Perth and New Zealand games where we got spanked. When you lose badly people can scatter and look for people to blame.

"The guy who I've sat with the most after both those games and evaluated from the playing point of view was Aaron. After those games we came back and beat Cairns and came back and kept the champs to 81 in what was our best performance this year.

"The catalyst for that both times was a real honesty session with Aaron so it's going to leave a massive void. He was a coach on the floor and I knew we were going to win that game before AB went down."