Key position prospect, Scott Gumbleton, has undergone scans to determine the cause of a back irritation which forced the 20-year-old to miss Essendon’s last two NAB matches.

Football operations manager, Paul Hamilton, said the club is being cautious with the young Bomber but has not ruled him out of Essendon’s Round 1 match against Port Adelaide.

“Scott has some nerve irritation in his back which is causing some tightness in his hamstring muscles, Hamilton said.

“It is a bit of a concern in that we withdrew him from a game a couple of weeks ago with some general soreness and expected him to be right the following week but he remained sore.

“It doesn’t appear to be a major injury but it is one of these lingering ones that we are seeking a second opinion on so that we get him right and start the season with him in good health.

“We are being cautious with his training at the moment. He is doing some training but not all drills and it is almost a case of day to day monitoring with him.

“If he is able to complete full training this week then, obviously, that puts him in line for Round 1 selection but we will have to wait and see.”

Gumbleton has battled hamstring injuries and a broken collarbone since arriving at the club via pick No.2 in the 2006 NAB AFL draft. Despite the back irritation, Gumbleton remains optimistic about his season this year.

“He is fine. He is positive and optimistic with things,” Hamilton said.

“There is no major tear or major injury as such but there is some irritation in his back and that is causing some problems in his legs and we want to make sure we get on top of that straight away.""

Meanwhile the club is hopeful Henry Slattery and David Myers will be available for selection in Round 1 despite both players suffering ankle injuries during the club’s challenge match against North Melbourne last Friday.

Hamilton said the players’ injuries would be assessed during the week and a decision made closer to Round 1.

“We would expect David to be fully recovered from the injury he received last Friday night. We couldn’t see any major problems there,” Hamilton said.

“We expect Henry to be fine too but it is not definite. It depends on how much his ankle settles down and then what training loads we can put on him.”

Kyle Reimers, who has been suffering from quad tendonitis, underwent an MRI scan today and is expected to play in the next two or three weeks.

Jobe Watson has fully recovered from a slight concussion sustained during the challenge match on Friday.