THE WESTERN Bulldogs have been dealt a pair of blows ahead of their clash with Essendon at the Telstra Dome on Friday night.
Defender Lindsay Gilbee and running midfielder Farren Ray are both late withdrawals, suffering from the flu.
Youngsters Shaun Higgins and Andrejs Everitt will take their places in the Bulldogs line-up.
It will be Higgins' first game since he sustained a serious ankle injury against Melbourne in round two.
Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade told Triple M radio that Higgins in particular had been knocking on the door of selection.
"Unfortunately he (Higgins) missed two games at Williamstown so that put him back a bit," Eade said.
"He trained well this week and, unfortunately for these other two guys, they’ve come down with the flu. It’s probably just a head cold."
Essendon will line up as named.
