Essendon coach Brad Scott has conceded that defender Ben McKay might not play again this year as he continues to recover from a foot injury.
McKay hasn't played since Round 11 due to the delicate nature of the injury, with the Dons defender now running out of time to feature again in 2025.
The Bombers and McKay haven't given up on the 27-year-old playing again this year; however, Scott understands it's a less likely outcome.
"In the interests of being as transparent as possible, I think it's unlikely he's going to get back this year. We haven't ruled him out," the Essendon coach said of his key backman.
"It's a very unusual injury in footballers. It's an injury that, unfortunately, just takes time.
"He's progressing, but he's progressing slowly. I've stressed to him that you can't concede, and he's not conceding. He's pushing to try and get back, and I think that's critical, even mentally it's important to push to get back.
"We're not going to concede until we have to."
The Bombers could see a trio of names return for Friday's clash with the Western Bulldogs, with Nate Caddy (soreness), Ben Hobbs (groin) and Todd Goldstein (managed) all a chance to play, pending they get through training this week.
"Nate Caddy and Ben Hobbs will train fully today. 'Goldy' was managed last week, so he'll train fully,"
"There's a level of expectation that those guys will be available.
"We won't confirm until we get through that session and see how they pull up tomorrow."
The Bombers won't have young midfielder Elijah Tsatas for the next two weeks at least after he was ruled out of Essendon's Round 19 contest with GWS due to a hamstring injury.
Tsatas is potentially facing more than three weeks total on the sidelines, with Scott only able to estimate his return date.
"If you're taking general terms, a standard hamstring is three weeks. He's probably that and a bit," Scott said.
"That's very rough terms. He'll start running, and we'll just progress him. It's always very difficult to give an exact timeframe.
"He won't be back this week or next."
Essendon will host the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Friday night at 7:20 pm (AEST).