Bombers star Orazio Fantasia has suffered an injury blow on the eve of the season.

Fantasia strained his quad on Saturday, as reported by AFL Media’s Callum Twomey. The speedster is no stranger to injuries and now faces a race to be fit for the season restart.

According to Twomey, Fantasia is unlikely to be fit for Essendon's clash against Sydney in Round 2.

The forward has only managed 29 games since 2018 due to several soft-tissue injuries in that time.

Fantasia is set to have scans in the coming days.