Damian Cupido's season continues to go from bad to worse. The spearhead will miss the next three to four weeks with swelling on top of his kneecap. ""Damian is suffering from bursitis just above the knee cap. The swelling is a reaction to the rehabilitation following his patella tendon injury,"" football manager Dominic Cato said.

""The bursitis is not a setback from patella tendon surgery, it is a consequence of the rehabilitation,"" he said. To aid in his recovery, the fitness staff will decrease his workload over the next few weeks. ""Damian's program will involve more cross-training to allow the inflammation to subside,"" Cato said.

The majority of the senior list will be on leave from midday Wednesday, June 23rd and return to training next Monday, June 28th. The Bendigo Bombers team will play this Sunday after enjoying their mid-season bye last weekend. Pending AFL approval, some Essendon players will be required to play.

Joel Reynolds will be one of the Essendon listed players the club will be hoping to play. The 20-year-old has returned from the long-term injury list after a bout of glandular fever. ""Joel will play as much of the match as he can. We will gauge how he responds throughout the course of the match. The main emphasis for him will be to regain match fitness after the illness,"" Cato said.

Dustin Fletcher was a late withdrawal from yesterday's match against Melbourne with hamstring soreness. ""We didn't want to risk him and it probably would have been unfair to Dustin and the team given that he wasn't fully fit and he would have played on such an important player in David Neitz.""