Injury Update: Calvin Ridley’s Return Timeline Established, Two Key Players Aiming for Round One Comeback.

Defender Jordan Ridley is expected to be out for the next 3-4 weeks due to a low-grade quad strain, which he suffered late in the third quarter of the Bombers’ practice match against Geelong last Friday. However, his recovery timeline is more positive than initially thought.

Ridley provided an update on his recovery at the club’s Bomberthon event on Monday morning. Meanwhile, midfielder Ben Hobbs and defender Jake Kelly are both potential candidates for a return in round one, depending on how they progress through their training in the coming week.

Hobbs is recovering from a shoulder injury sustained three weeks ago, while Kelly is managing a slight hamstring issue that he made fitness staff aware of a fortnight ago.

Nate Caddy is back in full training after overcoming soreness from a previous awkward landing at training a couple of weeks ago.

In other news, ruckman Sam Draper made a successful return to playing in last week’s VFL practice match against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium. Draper, who is recovering from off-season groin surgery, split his time between the centre bounce and resting forward, moving well before being managed at half-time as planned. He will gradually increase his playing minutes in the coming weeks.

Midfielder Dylan Shiel is nearing full fitness in his recovery from a foot injury, while Tex Wanganeen is progressively increasing his running loads and is expected to return to full training in the next 4-5 weeks.

Essendon injury list