• The injury list: Your club's sidelined players
ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson will take time away from the club as he recovers from successful shoulder surgery and deals with the "draining" impact of the club's ongoing drugs saga.
Watson, who will be sidelined for up to four months, joins midfielder Travis Colyer (foot) and ruckman Tom Bellchambers (foot) as Bombers nursing long-term injuries.
Essendon football performance manager Neil Craig said the captain would need time away from the club after his surgery, and admitted the strain of leading the club through three difficult seasons had taken its toll.
"Has it been draining on Jobe? I would think absolutely," Craig told SEN on Thursday morning.
"He's accepted a lot of the responsibility of keeping the group together and doing a lot of the media and being the spokesperson. It does become draining.
"He'll need some rest. But knowing Jobe as I think I do, he'll be around the club and offering as much support as he can.
Watson should be able to attack the next pre-season from day one after having surgery on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old initially hurt his shoulder during the Bombers' loss to Hawthorn in round 13. He then aggravated it further during the horror 110-point loss to St Kilda on Sunday, with the Dons ruling him out for the rest of the season.
Essendon announced on Wednesday that Watson’s surgery was successful.
"Jobe will spend the next two to three weeks resting," Essendon doctor Bruce Reid told the club’s website.
"He should make a full recovery in about 12-16 weeks."
With nine rounds remaining before the finals series, Watson should recover in time for the club’s summer training ahead of the 2016 season.
Pre-surgery, Watson admitted he was disappointed not to be in a position to help turn around Essendon’s stuttering 2015 campaign.
"The season isn’t going the way we would’ve hoped, and when you can’t be out there to help rectify it, it’s disappointing," he said on Tuesday.
"Any injury that a player sustains means that there’s got to be a rehab (period) and you have to get your mind around that."
The Bombers take on Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
Both clubs have a 4-9 win-loss record.
The Bombers also have had to cope without key midfield pair Heath Hocking and David Myers for the whole year.
