Star Geelong midfielder Paul Chapman could miss the next fortnight after injuring his hamstring on Friday night, coach Mark Thompson said.

And it was revealed late withdrawal Darren Milburn spent Thursday night in hospital with a virus.

Chapman suffered the injury during the second quarter of the Cats' stirring 11-point win over Hawthorn.

The injury is not believed to be serious but with the finals only six weeks away the Cats will err on the side of caution with their 2006 club champion.

"We were toying with the idea of bringing him back so it's not a big one. It is there and we just didn't want to risk him," Thompson said.

"It's not worth it this time of year so he'll be away in ice for a couple of weeks, maybe one or two weeks, and hopefully have a good run at the finals."

Conventionally, hamstring injuries cost a player three weeks so a premature return for Chapman could put his finals campaign in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, Milburn was on Friday afternoon still a possibility to face the Hawks despite receiving three litres of fluid via a drip the previous night, Thompson said.

It was not until 3pm on Friday that the Cats finally ruled out the All-Australian defender, who was well enough to watch the game from the stands.

"It was a secret in Geelong last night that Darren spent the night in hospital and put three litres of fluid in. Once upon a time that secret could never be kept in Geelong," Thompson said.

"We're very proud of the town. We put him in hospital and we were desperate for him to play and it didn't happen."

"He's a very, very good player. It would have helped our backline."

Thompson conceded Milburn's absence did affect the Cats' plans to curtail Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin, who finished the game with 4.5.

Andrew Mackie started the game on Franklin but the job fell to Matthew Scarlett for almost the entire night.

The Hawks' only injury was to forward Michael Osborne, who suffered a corked buttock in the second half.