ESSENDON youngster Darcy Parish will be out for up to two months after breaking his thumb in the VFL on the weekend.

The midfielder was dropped from the senior side two weeks ago and suffered the injury playing against the Northern Blues on the weekend. 

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The 20-year-old will require surgery after the setback.

"We'll be checking with the surgeon after he's had that procedure and getting a better feel for how long it's going to take to get Darcy back on the park," Bombers high performance manager Justin Crow said.

"The silver lining there [is] that we can really work hard on Darcy's running ability through that period."

Parish was pushing for a senior recall after averaging more than 30 disposals in his two games back in the VFL but will be forced to wait on the sidelines until later in the season.

It's not the first time he has suffered the injury, having broken his thumb at the start of his draft season in 2015.

In a further blow for the Bombers, a calf injury will see defender Patrick Ambrose ruled out until at least until round 14.

Michael Hurley is expected to be back after missing the past two weeks with a hamstring injury as Essendon faces reigning premiers Richmond on Saturday night.

Youngster Kobe Mutch is unlikely to play again this weekend after a series of headaches in recent weeks.

"There is no evidence of concussion, but we'd like to be conservative, because sometimes it’s difficult to work out exactly why these headaches are coming," Crow said.

"Until they resolve completely for an extended period, we’re going to keep him out of contact training and then also out of matches.

"So we'll be watching him closely this week as to whether or not he becomes available for the weekend."