It was a sight to warm the hearts of all Essendon supporters - Bomber mid-fielder Chris Heffernan moving freely and with a smile on his face. It has been a long 10 weeks for Heffernan who has been sidelined after injuring a knee during the pre-season. For weeks he has been stuck in the gymnasium boxing and lifting weights while his teammates have been outside sharpening up their skills. It's no wonder he had a smile on his face when he came off the track last night. ""It feels like an eternity since I have done that,"" Heffernan said. ""The knee felt pretty good so I'm a chance to play a quarter this weekend in the VFL game but that will be up to the medical staff.""

Heffernan popped his knee cap out during pre-season training. It was an injury that would ususally see a player back within a month but muscle was damaged around the joint meaning his rehabilitiation was a longer process than originally planned. ""It has been frustrating sitting on the sidelines,"" he said. ""The first few weeks were actually a bit easier to cop because I knew I was going to be out for a while and the knee was so sore, playing was the last thing on my mind. But as the knee got better it got harder to watch.""

Heffernan will be a welcome addition to the Essendon mid-field when he finally makes his long-awaited comeback to the Essendon senior side. The Bombers have been a little inconsistent this season in terms of centre clearances - a fit and in-form Heffernan will help rectify that problem. ""The blokes in there have done a pretty good job,"" Heffernan said. ""Jason Johnson, Justin Blumfield, Blake Caracella and James Hird have been excellent. Damien Peverill has also done a good job since he came onto the senior list. ""I think to have myself and Joe Misiti back in the side will simply ensure the players in the middle are fresher because we will have more players to rotate through the centre.""

Heffernan pulled up sore after training last night but it was a great feeling. ""The knee wasn't sore but the rest of me was - it is that general soreness you fell when you have been out of football for a while,"" Heffernan said. ""It is when you really know you aren't far away from getting back into it so it didn't bother me in the least.""