READ MORE SPORT:

A return to action remains a possibility for the Lakies' round 15 clash against Dunnstown, however, Hodge won't appear.

Learmonth president Stephen Griffin told The Courier the club didn't want to put Hodge at risk and potentially impact his family and career back in Brisbane.

"It is irresponsible for us to want him to come down interstate in these times," he said.

"It takes us a little bit to organise, we were going to have marquees and stuff so we couldn't wait until the start of next week ... probably need a bit more than a week-and-a-half of planning."

The club remains hopeful the three-time Hawks premiership captain may feature in 2022.

"We'll touch base back with him in February and see where we're at then," he said.

The Lakies had originally locked Hodge in to play round one, 2020, which he missed due to COVID-19.

They had hoped he would feature in 2021 but were not sure what his availability would be like.

He confirmed he would don the Learmonth guernsey following round 12 of the Central Highlands.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.

Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.