Redden left TIO Stadium approximately 12 minutes into the final term of Port Adelaide's narrow loss to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The 22-year-old ruckman was visibly nursing his shoulder and Hinkley wants to make a call as early as possible as to whether Redden will go under the knife.
"He's going to be an issue for us," said Hinkley after the game.
"We need to make a decision on how bad (the injury) will be and whether it will require surgery now to end his season or whether we can push on a little bit more."
Club medical staff will determine whether Redden requires surgery following scans early next week.
"We won't know that until we get scans, but my first thought would be that we're not going to take many risks and we'll get him repaired quite quickly if required," said Hinkley.
"Once it happens in a young ruckman it's going to be something we don't want him to carry, we want to get it strong.
"He's got a lot of time in front of him and a big future for us."
In a positive for the club's ruck stocks, Hinkley also confirmed Brent Renouf has recovered from knee soreness that has kept him out of action for several weeks, while Matthew Lobbe will be available to play against the GWS Giants in Round 12.
portadelaidefc.com.au will provide a comprehensive update on the club's injury situation on Monday evening.
