Essendon defender Patrick Ambrose has been cleared of suffering a long-term knee injury, following specialist consultation this week.

The 28-year-old sustained the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury during the Bombers’ practice match against Melbourne last Friday.

“Patrick will avoid the need for surgery, which confirms the initial thoughts of our medical team – so while it’s disappointing he will be miss some football, this is a good outcome considering and he will be managed conservatively,” general manager of football Dan Richardson said.

“With the view we can progress Patrick to return to full training in approximately eight weeks, he should be in a position to return to play in the early stages of the season proper.”