Essendon is expecting exciting young forward Jordan Houlahan to be available for selection ahead of the club’s VFL preliminary final on Saturday.

Houlahan missed the Bombers’ elimination final and semi-final victories due to a minor hamstring injury, but Essendon Physical Performance Manager Justin Crow says Houlahan has “progressed well”.

"Jordan will have main training this week – he’s run flat-out already over the weekend,” Crow said on the SKINS Injury Update on Tuesday.

“We’re expecting him to be available to play.”

Fellow first-year Bomber Trent Mynott sustained a blow to his foot in the side’s semi-final defeat of Richmond last week and Crow said a previous injury has complicated diagnosis.

“Trent had a stomp on his foot. That’s actually been really sore since the game, he’s still walking around in a boot,” he said.

“Our initial scans are inconclusive, because there’s an old fracture there from when he was younger.

“He’s going to see a specialist today and possibly get further investigation to find out about that.”

But while Mynott continues to use a moon boot, Crow said the club has not ruled the 18-year-old out of the selection mix for this week.

“Assuming that the fracture site is okay, then it will really come down to whether or not he’s pain-free and able to run and play by the end of the week.

“So we’ll be looking to assess him and learn more as the week goes on.”

Besides Mynott, Crow said the Bombers got through their narrow victory in good health and are prepared for their next challenge against Casey Demons.

“Generally, we’ve come out of the game pretty well. The guys have got in some good touch earlier this week with main training and then obviously the big game on the weekend.”

The first bounce in the preliminary final is set for 2.10pm at Stannards Stadium on Saturday.