Essendon midfielder Nik Cox will be unavailable for Friday night’s clash with Melbourne after sustaining an ankle injury against Brisbane on Saturday.

The 20-year-old has not been able to quell swelling in time for the six-day turnaround and will now set his sights on returning in the Bombers' round four clash against Adelaide.

Head of high performance Sean Murphy said despite some apt diligence in his post-injury maintenance, Cox had not been able to recover in time.

“'Coxy' went down with that ankle injury. It’s not as severe as (Zach) Merrett’s injury but he’ll miss this weekend’s game,” Murphy told Dons Digital’s Liberty Financial Performance Update.

“We were hopeful of getting him up (for the game) but with the six-day turnaround, it’s still (too) swollen and sore at this time of the week (to be available for selection).

“His acute management has been awesome, and he’s going to give himself every chance for next week.”

Midfielder Dylan Shiel will be touch-and-go for round three after being a late withdrawal from last week due to a side strain.

Murphy said the midfielder would have to get through training tomorrow to put his hand up for selection.

“’Dyl’ (Shiel) picked up a side strain early in the week and tried to manage it, but he just didn’t quite get up for the game,” Murphy said.

“Hopefully he’ll get through some skills and training tomorrow, and we’ll go through that process and see what his availability is for Friday night.”

After being diagnosed with a syndesmosis injury on Sunday, vice-captain Zach Merrett will undergo surgery in the next couple of days to repair his torn ligament.

The 26-year-old will then undergo a rehabilitation process once he recovers from the procedure.

“We were hopeful we’d gotten away with a syndesmosis injury, but unfortunately on the scan the next day it presented with a high-grade ankle injury,” Murphy said.

“Now he’ll go into surgery early this week and it’s all about how he comes out of that from a surgical point of view. The acute management is key and we’ll build him up once he gets into the club.”

In positive news, young key defender Zach Reid will play his first game in 2022 after overcoming multiple injuries.

Since his AFL debut in round five against Brisbane last year, the 2021 No.10 draft pick has unfortunately battled glandular fever, stress fractures and a foot injury.

Murphy said he was looking forward to the highly talented 202cm defender returning to play in the VFL Bombers’ round two clash against Casey on Saturday.

“It’s a really anticipated return for Zach Reid,” Murphy said.

“He had that back injury and the end of last year which has been the main injury.

“Then he had a little bit of foot soreness that we had to manage. He’s built his loads back up and he’ll play about half a game in the VFL, so it’s really exciting for him to be back out there.”

Murphy also touched on the progression of Will Snelling, Kyle Langford and Harrison Jones, highlighted stellar performances from Darcy Parish and Peter Wright, and gave an update on how Nic Martin had been travelling as he returns from seven days of isolation.

Watch round three’s Liberty Financial Performance Update below.

INJURY LIST - RD 3