Hawthorn four-time premiership star Cyril Rioli is back in Melbourne but remains on indefinite compassionate leave.
Rioli, who hasn't played since round four due to a knee injury, was granted leave to travel to Darwin for family reasons in early June.
Alastair Clarkson met with Rioli this week, but the coach told reporters on Friday that there is no time frame for his on-field return to AFL action.
"I caught up with him on Wednesday and it was great to see him," Clarkson said from Melbourne airport.
"He's slowly working through some things and they've still got some delicate things that they need to deal with over the next little while.
"We'll give him all the space that he needs to work things out and we're always here as a footy club to give him all the support we can.
"He'll sort things out and at the appropriate time he'll let us know what's happening going forward."
Rioli has been training during his absence from the club, but will require a block of conditioning before returning to the field.
The Norm Smith medallist would be an invaluable inclusion as the Hawks battle to secure a finals berth.
That campaign reaches a pivotal point on Saturday when Clarkson's ninth-placed team take on 10th-ranked GWS at Spotless Stadium.
Clarkson will continue to tinker with a forward line that hasn't broken the 100-point barrier in a game since round four.
Full-forward Jarryd Roughead's lean patch in front of goal continued in last week's win over Gold Coast, the skipper kicking one goal to take his tally to three in his past four games.
"He's playing an important role for us," Clarkson said.
"We need him to be helping us to score goals ... that doesn't mean he has to be the one that scores them.
"His role has changed a little bit ... he and we have accepted what that change is and its importance to our side.
"But perhaps the wider footy community is still measuring Jarryd Roughead's game around the amount of goals he scores."
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