ESSENDON has suffered a blow early in its clash against Port Adelaide with ruckman David Hille subbed out of the game.

Hille, 30, was replaced by Sam Lonergan at the 21-minute mark of the first quarter with a calf injury.

It is unclear whether Hille suffered the setback at Etihad Stadium or took a pre-existing injury into the game.

A bare-footed Hille cut a disconsolate figure in the rooms in vision captured by Fox Footy cameras.

Paddy Ryder will now be forced to shoulder the ruck burden against Port's Jarrad Redden and ruck-forwards Daniel Stewart and Justin Westhoff.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL