""Dustin is still in a bit of discomfort at the moment, but that pain and swelling will subside in the next day or two,"" Quinn said.
""At this stage we expect Dustin to be available for Friday night. He had a new mouth guard fitted yesterday, which he will wear when he plays and trains.""
Contrary to media reports today, Essendon’s consultant dentist said that Fletcher’s mouth guard was fitted correctly on Friday night and the mouth guard actually prevented the injury from being a lot worse.
Fletcher did not make an appearance on the training track last night, but Quinn expects the 29-year-old to resume training tomorrow. ""There is no reason why Dustin will not be out on the track tomorrow. He can participate in full training including contact work.
""I think the injury actually looked worse than it is. There is no doubt that it looked horrific on the television on Friday night when Dustin’s teeth were knocked out and there was blood every where. It is an unusual injury for football, but it actually won’t prevent Dustin from playing this week,"" Quinn said.
Unlike Fletcher, the skipper James Hird won’t be returning to the side this week. Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy yesterday ruled the skipper out of the important clash against St Kilda on Friday night.
""I don't think Hird will play this week. Probably next week, maybe,"" Sheedy said. ""Hird won't play because really, technically in the end, it wouldn't be the right thing to do by him. Only the doctors and him can make that decision, but admittedly I've got him out of the side.""
In other injury news, veteran defender Sean Wellman (hamstring) is set to return after five weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Damian Cupido (knee) and Mark Alvey (flu) are both available for selection. Scott Lucas (hamstring) and Dean Rioli (hamstring) are still one week away.
Sheedy hinted that Sam Hunt, was in the selection mix for the St Kilda game after an impressive performance for Bendigo on Sunday. ""He's one player we'd consider to be honest. We've nearly considered him in the last week or two. He did play very well (for the Bendigo Bombers last weekend), so he's a player who will come under pretty close scrutiny,"" Sheedy said.
