Essendon defender, Michael Hurley, is recovering well after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction almost a fortnight ago.

The 25 year-old said a standard post season ‘clean up’ of his shoulder revealed more than first thought.

 “I did it (shoulder injury) during the season and it wasn’t too bad,” Hurley said.

“I went in there initially to get a bit of a tidy up and there was a bit more than what they thought, so I had the full reconstruction.”

The reconstruction isn’t expected to impact Hurley’s return to pre-season training but will most likely require a modified weights program.

Speaking on AFL360 at the All-Australian awards Hurley credited Assistant Coach, Matthew Egan, for his impressive form in 2015.

“I worked with him when I was playing forward and then we went back together when he was the backline coach,” Hurley said.

“I’ve taken steps forward as a defender, I think early on the defensive part of my game was pretty sound but I was struggling to get into the game.

“I feel as though I’ve developed in that area and been able to get a bit more of the footy.

“I’ve watched a lot of vision of a lot of blokes, including Andrew Mackie and Michael Johnson from Fremantle.”

Hurley was named at Centre Half Back in the 2015 All Australian team after a stellar season for Essendon in defence.