Midfielder Darcy Parish is eyeing off a return to play in the next couple of weeks as he progresses from a troublesome calf injury.
The 26-year-old hasn’t featured since round 10 following a reaggravation of the initial injury in June, with his imminent return set to provide a boost for the Bombers’ clearance game in the final weeks of the home-and-away season.
In unfortunate news, defender Kaine Baldwin has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Baldwin’s symptoms from a navicular stress injury have not cleared sufficiently enough for him to return to play this year following multiple setbacks over the course of the season.
“Kaine’s recovery from his recent navicular stress injury hasn’t progressed as quickly as we’d like and he’s still showing symptoms with variations in his program,” GM – AFL Daniel McPherson said.
“The time remaining in the AFL season does not allow for him to complete a conservative rehab program, return to training and then be fit to play. After discussions with Kaine, we’ve ruled him out for the remainder of the season.”
Meanwhile, mid-season draftee Saad El-Hawli is looking at a return from a syndesmosis injury in the next 3-4 weeks, while young key defender Zach Reid is out of his sling and has commenced running following surgery to repair a pectoral rupture last month.
Calf
1-2 weeks
Darcy Parish suffered a strain in the lead up to the Bombers’ round 10 clash with North Melbourne.
Navicular stress
Season
Baldwin suffered a stress injury in his foot during pre-season training, before suffering a minor setback in training for round 15.
Pectoral
9 weeks
Zach Reid suffered a pectoral tear in Essendon VFL’s clash against Box Hill, remaining unlikely to return before the end of the season.
Ankle
3-4 weeks
El-Hawli injured his ankle during the fourth quarter of his best-on-ground effort in Essendon’s VFL’s three-point round 11 win over Carlton after getting his ankle trapped underneath him in a contest.
ACL
Season
Hunter suffered the long-term knee injury in pre-season training.
El-Hawli injured his ankle during the fourth quarter of his best-on-ground effort in Essendon’s VFL’s three-point round 11 win over Carlton after getting his ankle trapped underneath him in a contest.
