Football operations manager Paul Hamilton said McVeigh was a near certainty to take his place against North Melbourne this Sunday and that the Bombers had taken a conservative approach with him.
“We felt we had to get a little bit more conditioning into him. He’s missed a bit of football and it is important that when he comes back he is coming back not just to play but to perform.”
Michael Quinn is also in line for a recall after a virus kept him out last week, while Adam McPhee will be brought back in after serving a one-match suspension.
But the most encouraging sight for Essendon supporters was Andrew Welsh undergoing some light running at training.
Welsh jogged laps at Windy Hill while the senior side trained on Thursday morning.
Hamilton said Welsh had made a quicker than expected return from the broken leg he sustained at an intra-club match in February.
“He saw the surgeon on Wednesday and he got good news. They were really surprised at the progress he has made. He wasn’t scheduled to run today so that was another plus,” Hamilton said.
“We’re really happy with the way things are working with our medical team. We seem to be getting people back on the training track. We’ve endured a hard 18 months with injury and hopefully we are going to start getting some good results.”
Hamilton said the rush of returning players was a welcome change from the injury problems that have beset the Bombers over the last couple of years.
“For the first time for a couple of years we’ve got a little bit of depth.
“One of our aims is to make sure we’ve got 34-35 players we can call upon to play AFL football.
“We’re not quite at that level just yet but we think we’re on the way and that is part of our strategy.”
But one Bomber still on the injured list is the fiery Kyle Reimers who is battling a quad injury and is still three weeks away from returning.
“He is running well, his fitness it right up there. He’s coming back from a tendon injury in his quad,” Hamilton said.
“It’s one of those things you’ve got to be conservative with, and our doctors and physios have been. We want to pick him to perform, not just to play.”
