Essendon defender Mason Redman will be available for selection this week after recovering from hamstring awareness.
The 23-year-old was unable to play last week after being cautiously subbed out of the Bombers’ round three match against St Kilda.
While a five-day turnaround to face the Swans in Sydney proved too difficult to overcome for the 41-gamer, head of high performance Sean Murphy said Redman would be an option for the Bombers barring any hiccups this week.
“‘Redders’ (Mason Redman) had that hamstring awareness coming out of the game (against St Kilda),” Murphy told Dons Digital’s Performance Update.
“Just with the five game turnaround, it was too quick to recover in the end.
“He did a training session on Thursday and Saturday, and he’ll train fully this week and be available for selection this weekend.”
Experienced defender Patrick Ambrose marked a major milestone in his recovery from a foot injury by lining up in the VFL Bombers’ practice match against Frankston last Friday night.
The 29-year-old will travel to Brisbane to play in the VFL side’s round one fixture against the Lions to gain more match fitness as he builds towards full game-time.
“It was really exciting to see Paddy Ambrose take part in the VFL game on Friday night,” Murphy said.
“He played 65 minutes and he’ll increase his minutes this week.
“It’s been a big injury he’s had with that Lisfranc, so it’s really important to see him out there.
“He’ll go really well again this week with no restrictions and get a full game under his belt.”
Young defender Cody Brand is likely to miss Essendon’s VFL season opener after suffering an ankle injury in the side’s final practice match.
The Dons’ No.53 pick in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft will look to be available the following week when the VFL Bombers return to Melbourne.
“Cody injured his ankle on Friday night in the second quarter (after he) landed heavily on it,” Murphy said.
“It’s nothing too serious, but he’ll be touch and go this week because there’s a bit of swelling in the ankle we’ll have to manage across the week.
“He’ll most likely miss this week and be available the following week.”
Murphy also touched on brilliant AFL performances by Nik Cox and Aaron Francis in Essendon’s tough loss to Sydney.
Watch round five’s Performance Update below.
