The former Golden Square and Bendigo Pioneers star had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two-and-half weeks ago and is yet to resume running.

In Bendigo for last night’s Fightback Fundraiser at the Schweppes Centre, Ladson told The Adevertiser he’s unlikely to be back in the Hawthorn side until at least round three.

“The knee is coming along slowly at the moment, so it could be anywhere from round three to six before I play,” Ladson said.

“It’s frustrating, but I don’t want to rush back and have the knee cause me more trouble.” The knee operation was Ladson’s second visit to the surgeon in the off-season.

The classy left-footer revealed he played through the final two weeks of last year’s final series with an injured shoulder.

“There was no way I was going to miss the preliminary final and the grand final,” he said.

“I must have had about a dozen scans on the shoulder before the preliminary final, but the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with it and thought it must have been a nerve problem.

“After the grand final we thought the shoulder would get better with rest, but once we started pre-season training it still didn’t feel right. “I went and saw another surgeon and he found I had a tear behind my rotator cuff.”

When Ladson does make his return he will play his 100th senior game with the Hawks.

The 25-year-old is entering his eighth season with the Hawks after being drafted with selection 16 in the 2001 national draft.

That draft proved to be fruitful for the Hawks with Luke Hodge (selection one), Ladson, Campbell Brown (32), Sam Mitchell (36), Robert Campbell (rookie elevation) and Michael Osborne (rookie elevation) all going on to play key roles in last year’s premiership.

“We started together and the club was at the bottom of the ladder and we’ve come through together and played in a premiership, which is pretty special,” Ladson said.