COURTENAY Dempsey remains a chance to face Carlton on Friday night after scans revealed no significant internal damage to the Essendon defender.

 

Dempsey was crunched in a marking contest during Saturday's loss to the Sydney Swans, and was taken off the field on a stretcher.

 

It was feared Dempsey could have suffered heavy internal injuries, but Essendon football operations manager Steve Alessio said Dempsey could play against the Blues.

 

"He went to hospital after the game, they did scans there and it is great to say there is no broken ribs, punctured lung or internal damage to any organs," Alessio told essendonfc.com.au.

"He was at training this morning and the best case scenario is he still might play this week otherwise we are looking at next week for Courtenay."

 

Ben Howlett (shoulder) and Michael Hurley (ankle) are expected to return this week. Howlett was a late withdrawal after pulling up sore from a bump against Richmond in round nine, while Hurley trained last Friday in Sydney and was nearly available for selection.

 

"'Hurls' was very close to playing, he just missed out," Alessio said.

"We had to be 100 per cent sure with Hurls before the Sydney game so we are expecting him to train fully this week and be right to go.

"We are at that stage in the year where we have a lot of important games coming up and we need to make sure we manage our list appropriately."

 

Scott Gumbleton, Leroy Jetta and Dyson Heppell all have ankle issues, but the trio are expected to train this week and be available for selection.