Midfielder Darcy Parish will miss the Bombers’ season opener against Hawthorn.

The 26-year-old tweaked his hamstring during training last week and despite initial hopes that he would be right to play against the Hawks this Saturday, further medical consultation today confirmed that he won’t get up for the round one fixture.

Although Parish won’t play in Saturday’s clash, defender Jake Kelly will be pushing for a return after recovering from a minor hamstring injury of his own.

Ben Hobbs will be available for selection this week after pulling up well from Friday’s VFL practice match against the Northern Bullants, completing his first full game since sustaining a shoulder injury at training in late February.

Experienced on-baller Dylan Shiel is another Don edging closer to a playing return, re-joining the main group and training fully over the past week.

The Bombers open their 2024 campaign against Hawthorn at the MCG this Saturday, kicking off at 1:45pm AEDT.

Essendon round one injury list 

Updated Tuesday, March 12