Star defender Jordan Ridley is expected to resume full training next week as he recovers from a concussion suffered in Essendon’s loss to Brisbane.

The reigning Crichton medallist copped an accidental elbow to the face from Lions forward Eric Hipwood during the first quarter of the Bombers' round five clash.

The 21-year-old will mandatorily miss the Bombers’ blockbuster Anzac Day fixture due to the AFL’s concussion protocols.

Head of high performance Sean Murphy said Ridley was cautiously re-building his training loads to ensure a smooth transition into full drills next week.

“'Rids’ (Jordan Ridley) copped that whack across the face,” Murphy told Dons Digital’s Performance Update.

“Unfortunately, he had some concussion symptoms in the game, so that rules him out for this week as well.

“He’s come back to (a) baseline, he had a good day yesterday and he’ll gradually build up his training this week.

“We predict he’ll fully train next week and be up and going for the Carlton game.”

In positive news, veteran defender Patrick Ambrose successfully played a full game for Essendon’s VFL side in its season opener against the Lions.

The 29-year-old will look to continue building more match fitness to raise his hand at the selection table in the coming weeks.

“It was Paddy’s second game back from that Lisfranc injury,” Murphy said.

“He played a full game this time round which was excellent.

“It was really good for him to travel and get that game under his belt and play full minutes.

“He’ll just build on that now and keep pushing his case.”

From a performance aspect, Murphy touched on how Cale Hooker, Andrew McGrath and debutant Zach Reid stood tall in torrential conditions against Brisbane, while also touching on the VFL side’s experience during its tough loss to Brisbane.

Watch round six’s Performance Update below.