Essendon are confident Michael Hurley will play in the AFL season-opener against Adelaide despite the star forward being in a moon boot to protect an injured ankle.
Hurley sustained the injury in the Bombers’ easy win over Greater Western Sydney in Canberra on Friday.
The Bombers have this weekend off before their March 22 clash with the Crows.
While Hurley climbed onto the stage in his moon boot at the club’s family day on Monday, teammate Brent Stanton said he had assured the club he would be ready.
“It’s a lot more precautionary than probably what you can see from the outside,” Stanton told reporters.
“He’s confident, so is the doctor and so are the coaches.
“He’s come in this morning – he’s done extensive rehab over the last couple of days.
“But he’s reassured us that it’s just a general rolled ankle and he’s going to be right to go in two weeks’ time against Adelaide.”
Stanton said the Bombers were content with the preparation their 91-point thrashing of GWS had provided for their clash with Adelaide, despite the Giants managing just three scoring shots in the last three quarters.
“GWS still had a very good crack at us and we were able to withstand it,” Stanton said.
“We played the way we wanted to play – we were pretty happy with that.
“But we’ve still got a long way in terms of where we want to get to in our defensive structures.”