Essendon captain Jobe Watson is confident the club’s leadership group is capable of filling the void left by his absence.

The club is yet to name a captain to replace Watson while he is on the sidelines with a torn tendon in his hip.

Watson is comfortable with the contenders to take on the role in his absence.

“The reason leadership groups came into vogue was because when one person went down there was then numerous people who could help out,” Watson said.

“The leadership group is very comfortable in handling what we do from day to day.

“We have some young guys in there who have really stepped up, added a lot and we also have some experience in there.

“I don’t think there will be too big an issue with myself not being part of the group or out there on the field.”

The Brownlow Medalist will have surgery on Tuesday before turning his attention to how he can assist the playing and coaching group while on the sidelines.

“I have the surgery tomorrow and I will then probably lay low for a week or two to let the wounds heal,” Watson said.

“Once I start to get back to the club I will look to where I can help out the team and coaching staff before I get into rehab to try to get it healed as strong as possible.”

The 29-year-old midfielder is adamant he wants to do all that is required in his recovery and will not be rushing a return.

“I think the timeframe is a bit irrelevant because I just want to make sure that the injury heals properly and make sure it is right,” Watson said.

“But it would be great to come back and if the team is playing finals then it would be wonderful to be part of it, but the priority is for the injury to heal first.”

The injury will be Watson’s second major surgery in two seasons after he broke his collarbone in 2013 that saw him miss three matches.