MICHAEL Hurley is hopeful but unsure whether he will return from injury to play Fremantle on Sunday as Essendon look to shore up its finals position.

The Bombers will almost certainly book a return to September by beating the Dockers at Etihad Stadium this weekend, having overcome Gold Coast on Saturday with Hurley missing due to a calf injury.

The All Australian defender has been in outstanding form this season but it remains unclear if he will come back to help his side seal its top-eight place.

"I'm coming along really well. I can't really feel the calf [injury] any more. I have got through a lot of strength stuff," Hurley said on Monday.

"I'm not really sure if I'll be playing just yet, I'll leave that up to the medicos, but it's all tracking along well."

The Bombers will enter the Dockers clash as strong favourites, with Ross Lyon's men coming off back-to-back 104-point drubbings as they close out a disappointing season.

But Hurley said the Bombers wouldn't be conservative with his injury with a finals series looming.

"I think if it's ready it's ready, and if it's not it's not. That's the way we'll treat it. Obviously if we are lucky enough to make the finals the bye will be really handy, and see how it goes from there.

"But at the moment I'm not really sure. Hopefully it's a nice strong week and hopefully I can play on Sunday."

Results fell the way of the Bombers in round 22, with fellow top-eight contenders West Coast and the Western Bulldogs losing. It would be Essendon's first time in the finals since 2014, when they were defeated in an elimination final by North Melbourne. The club hasn't won a final since 2004.

"It's nice it's in our own hands now and if we can get the win over Fremantle we're pretty much locked in, which is great. It's exciting, it's a young group, we've wanted to play finals all year and now it's getting closer," Hurley said.

While the club is optimistic about Hurley's fitness, and he seems a certainty to play in Essendon's first final should they get over the line against the Dockers without him, the news is less positive for small forward Josh Green.

The former Brisbane Lion is set to miss the rest of the season after a suspected fractured foot in the win over the Suns.

"I think he got a little bit of bad news, they think there's a slight crack in that foot. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the coming days, but my guess would be he needs surgery at some point," Hurley said.