ZACH Merrett looks a strong chance to line up against Fremantle on Saturday despite the Essendon midfielder's concussion last week.

The star ball-winner had his game cut short by a heavy bump from Adelaide opponent Richard Douglas in the first quarter of Essendon's win on Friday night, an incident that saw Douglas suspended for one match.

And while Douglas will challenge that at the Tribunal on Tuesday, Merrett is also a possibility to play this weekend and head west to take on the Dockers at Optus Stadium after recovering well in recent days.

"The docs conducted a cognitive test on him today, which he actually passed, but that doesn't mean he's guaranteed to play this week," Essendon football manager Dan Richardson said.

"All of the signs are positive and we'll just monitor how the week progresses.

"I would suggest unless there's some symptoms around not feeling quite right he should be right to play."

Merrett has had a brilliant ascent to be among the top midfielders in the competition, winning Essendon's best and fairest in his third season and All Australian selection in his fourth year. He is also a member of Essendon's leadership group. 

Richardson hosed down concerns about Merrett's long-term health, denying reports the 22-year-old has suffered three concussions – last week, one in the JLT Community Series and another in an intraclub – in the past eight weeks.

"I've heard those reports myself and that's not correct. Aside from the weekend a couple of incidents we had were head knocks, but they weren’t concussions," he said.

"One was actually more a migraine, which he does get from time to time. We need to be clear that it’s not three concussions in the short space of time that some media outlets are reporting."

Merrett is Essendon's main injury concern heading into round two after their brilliant come-from-behind win over the Crows to open their season.