Essendon midfielder Andrew McGrath will miss the rest of the home and away season following confirmation of a syndesmosis injury. 

In what has been a stellar 2020 campaign for the 22-year-old, McGrath will seek specialist confirmation to determine if surgery is required.

McGrath limped from the field during the Bombers’ clash with West Coast at the Gabba on Tuesday night after awkwardly twisting his ankle in the second quarter.

“Andrew has sustained a moderate-grade syndesmosis injury. These injuries can be managed either surgically or conservatively,” head of medical services David Rundle said. 

“He will have a consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon in Brisbane tomorrow to determine whether he should undergo a surgical stabilisation procedure. Either way he would typically be expected to miss a minimum of six weeks. 

“We also have a couple of other players that have pulled up sore (from the West Coast game). We will give them every opportunity to prove their fitness with decisions on their availability to be made later in the week.”

Bombers forward Jayden Laverde continues to make “excellent progress” following ankle stabilisation surgery over five weeks ago. 

“He is now training with the main group. We will give him another solid training run this weekend which will set him up nicely heading into the week leading into the Port Adelaide game,” Rundle said. 

“We will assess how well he is moving and how well his ankle responds to the training sessions before making decisions on his return to play.” 

Tom Bellchambers and Aaron Francis have been ruled out of Sunday’s clash with Geelong as the club takes a cautious approach with their rehabilitation. 

“Aaron is making good progress following his flare-up of proximal hamstring tendonitis. He is back running again now and feeling much better. He is integrating back into training with the main group,” Rundle said. 

“He won’t be available for selection this week but will have a solid training session on the weekend. We will monitor his response to increased training loads in the week leading into the Port Adelaide game to determine his availability to play.

“Tom initially sustained bone bruising when he hyperextended his knee in the game against Gold Coast. He played against Richmond, but his knee pulled up sore. 

“The current focus for Tom, as his symptoms settle down, is to ensure he maintains his cardiovascular fitness and good quadriceps and glute strength. Whilst he is making progress, he won’t be available to play this week against Geelong.” 

Exciting youngster Ned Cahill could return by season's end, with the small forward set to integrate back into full training next week. 

“Ned is tracking well following his quadriceps strain. He is building his running volumes and intensity in rehab and is moving well. He is also working on his quad strengthening and given he is a first-year player we are taking the opportunity to do extra core strengthening, specifically targeting the hip and pelvis region,” Rundle said.

“We expect he will integrate back into full training next week following the Geelong game.”

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