O'Meara, secured through a complicated trade last year, began the season strongly with his new club but will miss his second straight match - this time against the Sam Mitchell-less West Coast Eagles on Sunday - because of bone bruising.

The dynamic midfielder, 23, had missed the past two seasons because of ongoing knee problems.

The Hawks, at the foot of the ladder, ceded their first round pick in this year's draft to St Kilda as part of the deal for O'Meara, intensifying the spotlight on the trade and the decision to allow premiership veterans Jordan Lewis and Mitchell to leave.

A feisty Clarkson on Saturday likened the O'Meara trade to the 1997 deal where veteran Wayne Schwass was traded from North Melbourne to the Swans for young small forward Shannon Grant, and the mega trade of 2007 when Chris Judd left the Eagles for Carlton.

"It's been really interesting all the debates around Jaeger and draft picks and all that sort of stuff," he said.

"Give it the fullness of time, for goodness sake. The Shannon Grant and Wayne Schwass deal is the perfect deal for both clubs. The Josh Kennedy, Chris Judd deal was the perfect deal for both clubs - one is over the longer term and one is over the short term.

"Jaeger has been at our footy club for four weeks. The hysteria around that is just mind boggling, really. But it's a great story - it's hysteria, it sells papers."

Clarkson said the Hawks were hopeful O'Meara would return against St Kilda next weekend but there were no guarantees. He stressed the injury was unrelated to O'Meara's history of patella tendon problems.

"He has got bone bruising in his knee. He had a knock against Gold Coast that we thought was going to settle pretty quickly but with bone bruising, it could be one week, it could be four," Clarkson said.

"We were hoping that, certainly the way he responded in the first couple of days, was positive and he was a chance to play the next week. But, as it's turned out, he is going to miss his second game.

"We are hopeful he is going to be right for next week but we were hopeful he was going to be right for last week and it wasn't to be the the case.

"Aside from the fact it's the same knee he had patella trouble with, that's the only thing that makes it the same as what has happened with him in the past."

The Hawks have opted to not recall Ty Vickery, another of their off-season acquisitions, to face the fifth-placed Eagles despite being declared fit. Vickery was a late withdrawal against Geelong on Easter Monday because of a tight back.

Vickery has been a disappointment since leaving Richmond, averaging 10 disposals and 1.7 marks and managing only the one goal in three matches.

He booted four goals for VFL affiliate Box Hill Hawks in their 11-goal win over Coburg on Saturday afternoon but ruckman-forward Jack Fitzpatrick was voted best afield.

"He (Vickery) hasn't been, like a number of our players, as good as he possibly could," Clarkson said.

Teammate Shaun Burgoyne said through the week "things weren't clicking" for Vickery at the moment but the social media backlash he had endured was "unfair".

The Hawks have made only the one change from the side crunched by 86 points by the Cats, axing Ricky Henderson and recalling Daniel Howe.

Winless after four rounds and enduring their worst start to a season since 1998, Clarkson hoped the Hawks were ready to rebound, stressing they "had a history of dealing with adversity" on and off the field.

"We are concerned with our playing group just playing to their system as best they can. How could anyone be critical of the effort of our group over a long, long period of time. We are backing ourselves with a bit of hard work and a couple of changes here or there, we will work our way out of the little bit of a hole we are in," he said.

The Hawks have struggled in key statistical areas this season, with a slump in disposal differential (18th in league), kicking efficiency (12th) and overall disposal efficiency (11th) of particular concern. Only Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions have conceded more marks inside defensive 50 than the Hawks.

Skipper Jarryd Roughead and fellow premiership stars Cyril Rioli, averaging a career-low 11.3 touches, 0.8 goals and score involvements, Isaac Smith and Jack Gunston are among those struggling, with the latter calling on the middle-tier of talent to lift.