Essendon is taking a particularly cautious approach with star forward Joe Daniher’s recovery from signs of early onset of osteitis pubis.

Daniher has been off the track since the Bombers’ clash with Hawthorn in round seven and Physical Performance Manager Justin Crow says he is slowly progressing as he strives to return to the line-up.

“We’re seeing small improvements from Joe from day to day and from week to week, however with the rehab process we have a whole series of different progressions that he needs to make before moving on to the next one,” Crow said in the SKINS Injury Update on Tuesday.

“He still hasn’t made the progression to move back into running.

“So he’s doing more things – he’s getting stronger (and) we’re comfortable that he’s moving forward – but in terms of actually getting running again and building up to play he’s not quite at that point yet.”

Crow says the club will not succumb to the temptation of rushing back the important Bomber.

“We’re very keen to hold our nerve on this one and make sure we get Joe right and we’ll be taking our time to do that regardless of how long it takes.”

Midfielder David Zaharakis is set for a long stint on the sidelines after being caught up in a crunching tackle in the side’s loss to Richmond last week.

“In the game David Zaharakis got driven into the ground. That impact injury compressed his sternoclavicular joint, which is the joint between your collarbone and your sternum,” Crow said.

“Where that attaches is quite a free-moving joint, there was impact into that joint space that’s created a small fragment.

“So he’s in for surgery today to have that fragment removed and also have that joint stabilised, because an unstable sternoclavicular joint is problematic.

“We’re hoping that that stabilisation procedure fixes the joint in terms of its ability to remain stable and move properly.”

Crow said he could not confirm when the on-baller would be available to return to the side.

“In terms of a timeframe to return, we’ll be looking to the surgeon for advice post-surgery, but usually around the six-week mark the joint is okay to play.

“But in terms of actually returning to AFL match play will have a lot to do with at what stage of that process he can start running again, so potentially a little bit longer depending on when he can get moving.”

In better news for Bombers fans, young midfielder Kobe Mutch is in line to return after overcoming a long run of niggling headaches, while David Myers is back to full fitness after recovering from a minor hip strain.

“Kobe’s now been a week without a headache, he did a 13km session on the weekend, he’ll do full training (at) full contact this week and we’re expecting him to be available to play,” Crow said.

“David played after his hip issue, he was symptom-free in the game, he’s come out of the game well (and) he’ll fully train and be available.”

Travis Colyer is also nearing his best after returning impressively in the VFL last week after a long lay-off with a broken foot.

“Trav’s come out of the game really well. He played 60 minutes of match time, he was back to his high-speed running best within that period.

“He’ll go into the next game on 80 minutes before doing the equivalent of 100 minutes through the mid-season break in preparation for a full game after that.”

Defender Marty Gleeson has made good progress in recent weeks and is set for an exciting milestone as he prepares to remove his moon boot after a busy week on the medical front.

“Marty’s been back to see the specialist and had an x-ray. Very positive report, it shows really good healing of his fracture.

“He’s still got to get a CT result, which is another scan. When we get that, if it shows as good a healing as the x-ray did then he’ll be out of the moon boot and starting his progression up to running and then to playing.

“So Marty will have his fingers crossed for that result tonight.”

Young defender Jordan Ridley was sent for precautionary scans on Tuesday and initial results are positive ahead of Essendon’s clash with Brisbane on Sunday.

“Jordan had some knee pain after the game and it wasn’t really clear on testing what was going on, so we scanned it to check it out,” Crow said.

“What he’s got is an inflamed Baker’s cyst in the back of his knee. These are usually not something that would keep someone out of a match.

“We’re expecting that to settle so he can train on Thursday, but obviously if he’s still sore at the end of the week he could potentially miss one (match).”

The Bombers face the Lions at 1:10pm on Sunday at The Gabba.