Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has all but confirmed sharpshooter Jack Gunston will miss Sunday’s AFL clash with Fremantle.

Gunston was initially slated to be sidelined for two to three games after hurting his knee against Western Bulldogs in round 19.

But there were was speculation Gunston could be a shock inclusion for this weekend’s grand final rematch, having only missed the Hawks’ last-start win over Melbourne.

“He’s coming along fine. He’s got a medial ligament strain and we’ll determine the timeframe in which he comes back,” Clarkson said on Monday.

“But he’d be pretty doubtful to play this week, I reckon.”

Clarkson could be without his two key forwards for the trip to Perth.

Jarryd Roughead is facing a one-match ban for tripping, with the club yet to decide whether they will take the case to the tribunal on Tuesday.

“If he doesn’t play, we’ll just have to deal with it as best we can,” Clarkson said of Roughead’s potential absence.

Josh Gibson, Brian Lake, Cyril Rioli, Sam Mitchell and Clarkson have been among the key Hawks to miss large chunks of the 2014 season.

“We’ve coped with enormous amounts of adversity over a long period of time now,” Clarkson said.

“Whether it’s a suspension or an injury, these things happen in our game all the time.

“The really good clubs seem to cope with it ok … hopefully we can do it again if we need to.”

Lake has served a four-week ban and is eligible to return against the Dockers.

Clarkson said he would decide whether Lake needs a run in the VFL “to get a bit of match fitness” later in the week.