INJURED Hawthorn pair Mitch Lewis and James Blanck will travel to the United States next week to complete a rehabilitation block with internationally renowned reconditioning guru Bill Knowles.
The key position players will train at Knowles Athletic in Philadelphia where the American has built a reputation as one of the leading rehab experts in the world, using a unique approach to enhance recoveries from anterior cruciate ligament ruptures.
Knowles has more than three decades of experience and has been working with AFL players since two-time Geelong premiership player Max Rooke first visited Philadelphia in 2010, with players from another dozen clubs visiting since then.
Lewis and Blanck both started running in the closing months of 2024 and are aiming to return to action by midway through this year after undergoing knee reconstructions last year.
Blanck tore his ACL in Hawthorn’s intra-club almost 12 months ago but is at a similar position in his rehabilitation to Lewis due to complications following the initial reconstruction, which required multiple rounds of further surgery.
Lewis suffered his own ACL tear in round 17 – his first senior game since Easter Monday and just fourth for the campaign – after initially being cleared of a torn ACL at the ground, continuing his nightmare run of knee injuries.
Hawthorn rehabilitation coordinator Jack Price has worked closely with the pair and will also travel to the United States to maximise the learnings.
Rehabilitation trips such as these are expensive, but the Hawks have always been prepared to provide their players with the best possible medical treatment. Last year, the club sent Changkuoth Jiath to Aspetar in Qatar with veteran physiotherapist Andrew Lambart to help the half-back overcome the soft tissue issues that have plagued him.
International superstars Tiger Woods, Andy Murray, Peyton Manning, Jonny Wilkinson, Alex Rodriquez and Frank Lampard are also some of Knowles’ illustrious past clients.
Gold Coast made a sizeable investment at the end of 2022 to bring Knowles out to Queensland for a couple of weeks at a time when Ben King, Lachie Weller and Connor Budarick were all recovering from knee reconstructions.
The 26-year-old emerged as a star in 2022 when he kicked 37.15 from 15 appearances before adding 36.20 from 15 games the following year, but has struggled to stay on the park across his career to date.
Hawthorn will accelerate its preparations for the 2025 campaign when they head down the highway on February 17 to face Geelong in a scratch match at GMHBA Stadium.
