Essendon Football Club wishes to advise Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has been granted a leave of absence.

In recent months, the club has been continuing to support McDonald-Tipungwuti as he deals with personal matters, with the 28-year-old also managing a calf injury this pre-season.

General manager of football Josh Mahoney said McDonald-Tipungwuti was a much-loved figure and had the utmost support across the club to take a period of leave.  

"The wellbeing of our players and staff is always our priority when guiding our decision making. It was the driving force behind our decision to run a part-time program pre-Christmas which benefitted all involved in our program,” Mahoney said.

“With this in mind, we have prioritised Anthony's wellbeing in making a decision to grant him time away from the club.

"Anthony has been very open with us about some of his personal struggles, and coupled with his recovery from a calf injury, we felt this leave period was in the best interests to support Anthony.

“He is a much-loved member of our football club, and we will continue to care for and fully support Anthony throughout this time. We look forward to his return in the future."