The Hawks could receive a huge boost ahead of Thursday night's clash in Brisbane, with coach Brian Goorjian declaring marquee man Deng Adel a "solid chance" of returning from injury.
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Adel suffered a calf injury during the pre-season and it caused the former Cleveland Cav concerns in the Hawks' first game against the Bullets. He missed Monday night's win over Cairns, but is likely to be back for the team's next clash with Brisbane.
However, Goorjian admitted that uncertainty remained over the availability of forward Cam Bairstow, who tweaked his ankle just minutes before tip-off against the Taipans.
"I think Adel is a solid chance, I think he's close," the Hawks coach said.
"It was really unfortunate circumstances [with Bairstow] and I think in my time in coaching, I've never had a situation where a guy has got hurt in warm-ups. It does happen, but it's never happened to me. I just gave him a high-five and said 'head up, we'll move forward with this'. He was really upset. He was really excited about the game, he's really excited about the team, and it was a kick in the guts for him.
"I know Cam wants it bad, but I just have no idea of the severity of the injury. I know we had someone there on it as soon as it happened and we're doing what we can."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
