Hawthorn have announced captain James Sicily will be sidelined until at least after the club’s mid-season bye in round 15 just a week after coach Sam Mitchell responded to speculation about his injury status by saying it was “a storm in a teacup”.

The Hawks on Tuesday said Sicily had succumbed to a “hip/abdominal” issue, and he’ll miss key matches against the Western Bulldogs (this Thursday) and Adelaide.

Mitchell was asked last week about Sicily’s form and his injury status, but denied his versatile veteran was in any way hampered.

Hawthorn’s head doctor said Sicily’s injury was not significant enough to justify his omission before last Thursday night’s heavy loss to Collingwood.

“Unfortunately, James’ injury has flared up post the Collingwood game on Friday night after showing improvement in the weeks prior,” the club’s doctor Liam West said in a statement.

“Having played every game this season, we were always looking to give James an extended break around the bye, so we’ve decided to bring this forward.”

The Hawks have a bye after two crunch games in the next fortnight, so 168-gamer Sicily with have time to rest during the mid-season period.

Hawks premiership great Luke Hodge last week said there had been “murmurs” that Sicily was carrying a groin issue and that this could be impacting his kicking, but Mitchell stressed at the time that wasn’t the case.