Dyson Heppell has expressed his confidence Jake Carlisle will remain with the club beyond this season.
Carlisle hasn’t played since the round 13 match against Hawthorn late last month because of an ankle injury.
The 23 year old is out of contract at the end of the season, but Heppell expects Carlisle to remain an Essendon player.
“Very confident Jake will stay on,” Heppell told Triple M.
“He’s been fantastic around the club over the last few weeks.
“Hopefully looking forward to seeing him back very soon and definitely confident that he will stay with us.”
Carlisle could return to the playing field this weekend as he nears a return from that ankle injury.
Essendon has brought a number of players back through the VFL in recent weeks.
Adam Cooney, Heath Hocking, Paul Chapman and David Zaharakis are among those to have spent time in the VFL rebuilding their fitness base.
Carlisle has missed the last four Essendon matches.
