After injuring an ankle pre-season, McVeigh, 28, has played only one match this year against North Melbourne in round four, but Knights said he had put up his hand to play in the VFL for the Bendigo Bombers this weekend.
“(McVeigh) said he’s had two chunks where he’s missed a bit of footy and he just thought for his preparation, playing in the VFL was important. That just shows his maturity,” Knights said.
"If his ankle is fine and pain-free, he will be back sooner rather than later."
The Essendon coach said also that forward Scott Lucas, who was dropped two weeks ago after indifferent form in the early stages of the season, was close to a return to the AFL.
Knights said Lucas' attitude after being dropped had been first-class.
"I’m catching up with him weekly. I’m sure his senior recall is not far away but there is no guarantee when that will be."
Knights said he expected "very strong football" from this week's opponents Richmond, who have experienced a turbulent week with constant conjecture over coach Terry Wallace's future.
"Richmond played very well against Port last week. They were in excess of three goals up with 10 or 11 minutes to play. They played some good footy and we’d expect much of the same.
"We're going to have to play at our top to win. The reality is we’re still putting out the youngest team in the competition. We’ve got youth on every line. It’s quite interesting coming up against a Richmond team that has more experience."
Essendon will have six indigenous players – Patrick Ryder, Andrew Lovett, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Courtenay Dempsey, Alwyn Davey and Leroy Jetta – in the team to face the Tigers in the Dreamtime at the 'G clash.
Knights said that given Essendon's long history of promoting indigenous talent and the strong representation in this week's side, he expected the team to be "pretty switched on" on Saturday night.
