PETER Wright is making a charge to be available for Essendon's clash with North Melbourne on Sunday, with Bombers coach Brad Scott weighing up selecting the key forward for his first game of 2023.
The club's reigning best-and-fairest winner underwent shoulder surgery after a training mishap on the eve of round one ruled him out of the first half of the season.
It was initially expected Wright may not be available until deeper into the year, but he has been increasing his training in recent weeks and rejoined full training this week.
The Bombers face the 17th-placed Kangaroos on Sunday at Marvel Stadium and Scott said on Thursday that last year's Crichton medallist, who booted 53 goals in 2023, would be in the mix to play.
"He'll fully train today. I haven't been concerned about a return-to-play date for Pete, I've been a lot more concerned about a return to full training and that's today," Scott said.
"He's medically clear and he'll fully train with full contact today so he'll certainly give us something to think about for selection this week because if he trains really well today then he'll be available.
"It's ahead of schedule but you can only look at the data points and he's passing every test and has been ahead of schedule for a fair while now. We'll obviously assess the risk vs reward but he trained full contact yesterday and will do the same again today.
"The thing with the shoulder is he's been doing a mountain of conditioning work. He's almost done a mini pre-season. He's ticked all the boxes. What's the downside? He's passed every test so we'll weigh all those things up and make a call tonight."
The Bombers could also be boosted by the return of midfielder Dylan Shiel, who is pushing his case to play after missing last week with a foot issue.
He has been sidelined the past two games, with Essendon claiming back-to-back wins over Richmond and then West Coast, while defender Jake Kelly has also passed his concussion issues and is medically clear to play.
"[Shiel] will fully train today and he'll need to be completely unrestricted and feeling 100 per cent. If he's anything less than 100 per cent we'll give him another week but all signs are positive at the moment," Scott said.
Scott spent 10 years coaching North Melbourne between 2010-19 and will face his former side for the first time in charge of the Bombers.
He said Essendon needed to be aware of the Roos' improved form in the past fortnight against Sydney and Collingwood.
"It's really clear their stoppage work has been first class. They're right at the top of the competition over the last month in terms of their work in and around the contest and that's largely led by Todd Goldstein and their captain Jy Simpkin and they're two really high quality players so we're going to have to be at our best to match them," he said.
Essendon's newest recruit, Perth tall forward Jaiden Hunter, is expected to arrive at the club on Thursday after the Bombers grabbed him in Wednesday's mid-season rookie draft.