Essendon ruckman Tom Bellchambers will not play again this year after undergoing shoulder surgery on Monday night.

Bellchambers had been battling niggling pain in recent weeks but should now be available for full training by the start of the pre-season.

“Tom has, for a while, been battling pain in his AC joint,” Physical Performance Manager Justin Crow said on the SKINS Injury Update on Tuesday.

“He’s had surgery overnight – which is a distal clavicle resection – so he’ll start his rehab this week.

“He’ll be looking to get back into training when we return with graduated contact.”

Crow has given Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti the all clear to face Port Adelaide on Friday after the dangerous forward was forced from the field in the side’s narrow loss to Richmond last week.

“Anthony had a minor ankle sprain, which was fine to play on, we got it re-strapped,” he said.

“He’s been strapped up and trained well today, so there is no issue there.”

Defender Ben McNiece was withdrawn from that game due to a minor knee injury, but Crow holds some hope the 26-year-old may put his hand up for selection this week ahead of a potential VFL finals berth.

“Ben has an MCL injury. It’s low-grade, we’ve seen a couple of them get up recently to play, he wasn’t so lucky so he missed the game.

“There’ll be some doubt over his availability this week, but we’ll be looking to test him later on and if he wasn’t available this week then he’s available for VFL matches assuming we make the finals.”

In encouraging news for fans, young gun Josh Begley made an important breakthrough in his recovery from an ACL injury this week, running for the first time since suffering the disappointing setback on ANZAC Day.

Crow said Begley is “tracking really well” in his rehabilitation as he strives to prepare to hit the ground running 2019.

“Josh is 16 weeks post-injury now with surgical clearance and some good strength around his knee.

“Josh had his first run today so he did that in front of the playing group and everyone was really pleased to see him take that big step forward.”