EXPLOSIVE Essendon forward Alwyn Davey is set to play in the opening round of the 2009 season, but it's going to be a slightly longer wait for new recruit Brent Prismall.

Davey was taken by the Bombers in the third round of the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, but played just five matches this year before a knee reconstruction ended his season.

Bombers coach Matthew Knights said he'd even had to rein in Davey as the super-keen forward put everything into his recuperation, but is expecting him to be right for the start of the home-and-away season.

"Alwyn is fine – his rehab and his recovery from his cruciate injury has been fantastic," Knights said at training in Bundoora on Friday.

"We've slowed Alwyn down a little bit, and he's such a compact frame that he'll be back to his best really early in the season.

"We're looking at round one for Alwyn, no question about that."

Former Cat Prismall injured his knee in the first term of Geelong's qualifying final win over St Kilda, and is not expected back until mid-season.

The 22-year-old, who came to the Bombers for pick 39 in this year's trade period, was on the track today for the warm-up, and Knights said it was terrific to have him out there with his new teammates on a bleak November morning.

"It's just encouraging – he said he enjoyed just actually doing the warm-up out there with the players.

"We've had to temper his ambition a little bit – I think he was looking at round one, but we're going to make sure he's right for the next 10 or 12 years, rather than being too concerned about the early part of the season.

"It's just great to have someone with such a professional attitude about his football, and the feedback we get from Geelong is he was one of the young players who attacked his football with a great deal of professionalism.

"We're really proud to have someone like that in our club."

The Bombers had a lot of players in for surgery at the end of the season, and Knights said he was expecting most of them to back training with the main group soon.

"Late last year we had a lot of guys that went through operations and that were a little bit sore, so we're really mindful – both myself and Stu Cormack, the new fitness coach – we've got to make sure we bring them on gradually.

"I would have thought there were 20-22 in the main training group, and another 14 in rehab programs at the moment, but those guys will be integrated back in in the next four to six weeks.

"By the end of November we'll have most of them up and running."