ESSENDON will once again struggle to field a fit side next Friday night when it takes on the Western Bulldogs, after another four players joined the injury list on Saturday afternoon against Adelaide.
The Bombers were dealt an early blow against the Crows when they lost Courtenay Dempsey to an innocent-looking broken leg and defender Dustin Fletcher to a groin strain.
To further complicate matters, ruckman David Hille played the second half with a broken hand, which looks likely to sideline him for the final two games, while Henry Slattery strained his adductor but managed to run out the match.
Coach Matthew Knights isn't ready to concede the Bombers' season is over, and is still focusing on the positives of some other players returning in time for the final two games.
"On the brighter side, I believe Mark McVeigh may be available, and Kyle Reimers will be available, and potentially Jarrod Atkinson may be available," he said, after the 56-point loss at Telstra Dome.
"For the four that we think will be definitely going out of the side, we may have three coming back.
"Fletcher has a groin problem and he'll definitely miss two or three weeks, and Dempsey has a bit of a crack in his fibula.
"It's a separate incident [to his previous leg fracture]. He was just, I believe, running through the middle of the ground. He might have copped a bit of a knock beforehand, but it was fairly innocuous what happened.
"[Slattery], I would have thought, would be unlikely [for next week]. He basically carried the groin for the whole second half because we didn't have much choice.
"If it's a strain, it will be a one to two week scenario."
Forward Scott Lucas, who has missed the past three games with "irritation around the knee", is also no certainty to come back this season, owing to an ankle that is also hampering his progress.
"We are pretty thin, we're scraping the barrel, particularly thinking that Lucas may not come back either," Knights said.
"He looks more likely than not to miss the rest of the year now, so it's getting a bit thin.
"It's not something some good rest won't fix. It's just he's getting irritated and pulling up sore after games and training.
"It's just a matter of him resting and getting it right, and we think he'll be fine for next year."
