Essendon's hopes of reinstilling some pride in the team in their final game of the season could be significantly bolstered by the return of veteran defender Dustin Fletcher who looks set to return from a hamstring injury.
General manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said while Fletcher looks likely at this stage, they will not risk the veteran should he not be 100 per cent fit.
“At the moment the doctors and physios are saying Dustin is a chance. He would love to play but we are not even going to think about risking him if there is a risk element involved,” Hamilton said.
The injury-riddled side - who had 19 players unavailable through injury or illness last week - could see a number of players come back into the mix for the clash with the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Hamilton said Patrick Ryder, Sam Lonergan and Travis Colyer have bounced back from the virus that struck them down late last week and should not miss another week.

“We’d hope they are a chance for this week and that the virus doesn’t spread any further,” Hamilton said.

“Certainly with Ryder, Lonergan and Colyer they’re not out of the woods yet and it really just depends on how they pull up, but generally with these sorts of things you’d expect them just to the miss the one week.

“We’d love to see all three of those players back for the last round.”

Jason Winderlich (hand) and Bachar Houli (knee) may also come into the side, giving the Bombers a much needed boost through the midfield.

""Bachar has missed the last two with a knee and is another that could be up for selection,"" Hamilton said.

“Jason is a lot better than he was last week and has started to get full mobility back in his hand.

“While it is still a little sore, he again represents a fairly good chance of playing and we’d love to get him back in the side and get some run from him.”

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