Essendon hopeful Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will be fit for Marsh Cup after injury setback

In yet another setback in an off-season now rife with issues at Tullamarine, star Essendon small forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has had his pre-season interrupted by injury.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has suffered a pre-season injury setback. Picture: Michael Klein

Essendon is confident it has avoided more pre-season pain, declaring Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti’s calf strain very minor.

The Bombers yesterday said McDonald-Tipungwuti would still feature in the Marsh Series after complaining of “some tightness” a week ago.

“Walla on Monday a week ago felt some tightness in his calf during training and struggled for the next couple of days,” Essendon head of medical services David Rundle said.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has suffered a pre-season injury setback. Picture: Michael Klein

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“We did get an MRI scan which showed a very minor injury to his soleus muscle and we only expect him to out for a short period.

“He actually had his first run today, so should be integrating back (into main training) within the next fortnight.”

McDonald-Tipungwuti’s lucky escape follows that of ruckman Tom Bellchambers, who last week went under the knife to fix nagging knee soreness.

“Tom’s had anterior knee pain since Christmas,” Rundle said.

“It was troubling him to the point where he felt it was affecting his performance, so we sought an orthopaedic consult and the recommendation was an arthroscopy.

Big Tom Bellchambers has had surgery to fix a naggin knee complaint. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

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“They performed a very minor procedure last Thursday. He’s come through that really well and he should be up and running within the next week or so.”

Michael Hurley (shoulder reconstruction) and David Zaharakis (ankle and knee) are scheduled to join in full training within the next fortnight, while Cale Hooker (hip) and Dyson Heppell (foot) still have work to do.

Originally published as Essendon hopeful Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will be fit for Marsh Cup after injury setback