Defender Jayden Laverde will look to prove his fitness for Friday night’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.

The 27-year-old suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter of Saturday’s loss to Geelong and was subsequently subbed out.

GM of Performance Daniel McPherson said Laverde will be given every opportunity to take his place in the best 22.

“Jayden went down with an ankle injury and with a short turnaround to this game, the decision was made to sub him out of the game last Saturday night,” McPherson said.

“He’s pulled up reasonably well and has been on light duties since the weekend, so hopefully he’ll get up for the Bulldogs game. We’ll know more later in the week."

Midfielder Dylan Shiel is still managing foot soreness which prevented him from playing in any grade last weekend.

After being the AFL substitute in rounds 16 and 17, Shiel may need more time to rectify his foot complaint.

“Dyl’s still battling some soreness and he hasn’t been quite right in recent weeks,” McPherson said.

“As Brad alluded to in his presser, we want Dyl to feel 100 per cent right. Until he can get through training uninhibited, we won’t be pushing him out there to play – we’ll give him the time he needs to get this right.”

Ruckman Sam Draper will not play for at least the next two weeks, with the ruckman “not yet ready” for main training duties, which rules him out of selection.

In a welcome sight for Bombers fans though, midfielder Will Setterfield and key defender James Stewart were both present at Essendon’s main session on Tuesday, completing competitive running drills as they complete the tail end of their rehab programs.

Essendon round 19 injury list