Essendon forward Paul Chapman is in doubt for Sunday afternoon’s clash against Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.

Chapman rolled his ankle during the club’s 81-point win over Carlton on the weekend and will be monitored throughout the week before a final decision is made on his fitness.

Club doctor Bruce Reid said Chapman’s fitness would be determined later in the week.

“We would hope he comes up as he played three and a half quarters after he rolled his ankle,” Reid said.

“He is a bit swollen so we will take it easy with him and see how he is by Thursday.”

However, big man Patrick Ryder is a chance to take on Fremantle as he continues to recover from his ankle injury suffered against Hawthorn.

“Paddy is going pretty well, we will test him on Thursday and with a bit of luck he will come up and play,” Reid said.

“Initially he had trouble weight bearing so we will test that and then test his agility out on the track and then he is back into full training.”

Kyle Hardingham is expected to be fit to travel west after being substituted from the game against Carlton with a corked leg.

A late withdrawal from the win over Carlton was Patrick Ambrose who is expected to miss the next two to three weeks with a quad strain.

Defender Tayte Pears missed Sunday’s VFL match against Casey with an achillies tendon complaint, but Reid was hopeful the injury would not have any long-term effects for Pears.

“Tayte pulled up sore in his achillies so we were just precautionary because we want that to settle down to avoid chronic tendon injuries,” Reid said.

“With tendons you need to be careful because if you get a chronic achillies or patella tendon then they stay with you and you can miss many weeks.”