TALENTED Essendon forward Scott Gumbleton is facing a race against time to be fit for round one of the regular season after he was diagnosed with a grade two hamstring strain on Tuesday.

The injury was sustained during the first quarter of the Bombers’ impressive NAB Cup win against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night, and will cause him to miss at least a month of football.

Gumbleton’s coach Matthew Knights says it’s an unfortunate blow to the player picked second overall by the Bombers in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft.

“It’s very disappointing [for us], and devastating for him,” Knights told the media at Windy Hill this morning.

“He’s been through a lot in his first 12 months with us.

“But what we spoke about is dealing with these issues, about him being mentally strong for both himself and the group, and he’s of the mindset that he wants to come back even stronger, which is a fantastic attitude to have.”

Gumbleton eventually managed to play five senior games in 2007 after making a comeback from a similar injury in his right leg, although the club’s medical staff believe this most recent injury, in his opposite leg, is unrelated.

Knights paid tribute to Gumbleton’s personal qualities, and said the 198.5cm prospect – who is said to be still growing – would overcome his injury troubles and find his way into senior reckoning.

“Even though he’s a quiet person, he’s got a terrific constitution and I think he will bounce back from this,” Knights said.

“As a club, we’ll do everything we possibly can to investigate why this is happening, how we can rectify it and assist him to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“That’s our approach at this stage.”