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ESSENDON coach John Worsfold expects games to be shortened as the AFL attempts to squeeze in as many matches as possible in the early part of the season.

The League is considering a number of options as it embarks on a shortened 17-game season in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, including 16-minute quarters to lower the loads on players if they need to play more games in smaller timeframes. 

In an online media conference on Tuesday, Worsfold said the Bombers expect to run out at Marvel Stadium on Saturday against Fremantle, and that shorter games is a likelihood.  

"My understanding is it's likely to be shortened game time. Today is the day they're going to finalise the discussion we had yesterday amongst the coaches plus obviously the players' discussion," he said.

"The AFL was going to summarise all that and send it out today. There's a good chance that game time may be shorter, which really doesn't impact too much.

"It may be handy for some players who have had shortened pre-seasons, because the workloads won't be as large within a game, but every club will have those players."

If the AFL goes down the path of holding more games with shorter breaks Worsfold said clubs would be able to "cope" with the demands.

The Bombers, like most clubs, have banned public access to their headquarters, and have focused on more stringent hygiene in recent weeks to combat the spread of the illness.

They are minimising who comes through the football department and also holding meetings in open areas.

Worsfold said Essendon is not doing temperature checks on every player as they enter the club but monitoring their health through regular communication.

Only days out from the Bombers' scheduled season-opener, Worsfold said training had been sharp and that he felt the usual energy ahead of round one.

"Obviously it's highly unusual and pretty different. But we're pretty clear on what we have to do and what we're gearing up for," he said.

"As much as there's things we have to do that are different, within all that we're focusing on training well and working out who's available to be selected and then picking our team to take on Freo." 

Conor McKenna, who returned to Melbourne this month after a stint in Ireland, and Jake Stringer, who did not play in the Bombers' Marsh Community Series, have been deemed available for the club's clash if it goes ahead. 

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Worsfold said ruckman Tom Bellchambers is also fit to be picked to meet the Dockers after recovering from recent knee surgery.

However he offered no timeframe on the return of captain Dyson Heppell, who continues to battle the foot injury that hindered his 2019 campaign.

"I can't really tell you at all with Dyson," he said.