A RARE ankle injury for Essendon youngster Jayden Laverde will see him visit a specialist to determine the amount of time he'll spend on the sidelines.
Laverde, 20, was hurt late in the JLT Community Series contest against Geelong on Sunday and will see the specialist on Tuesday evening.
Bombers high performance manager Justin Crow told the club's website that Laverde had suffered two separate injuries.
"Jayden got a clip over the head while marking the ball in the air and he landed so awkwardly that his boot actually snapped," Crow said.
"He's got an injury to the inside of his ankle, the medial ligament, and also an injury to the flexor retinaculum, which is a sheet that goes across the front of the ankle.
"The first part of that injury is only of moderate concern for us but the flexor retinaculum is something we rarely see, so we're getting an opinion from a specialist tonight about the best way forward in managing that."
Laverde missed the early part of the 2016 season after a shoulder operation.
The Bombers' ruck stocks will also be tested with Matthew Leuenberger unavailable for at least the first two rounds with an injured left hamstring.
The injury will rule the ruckman out of clashes with Hawthorn and his former club the Brisbane Lions.
"(He) was following up from a ruck contest, he was bent right over the football, got some pressure from behind and had a pulling sensation as he stretched over the ball," Crow said.
"We've had it scanned and it's a medial, which is the inside of the hamstring.
"He'll be back in full training in three weeks and then looking to play probably that week."
Tom Bellchambers had knee surgery in January and will be on managed minutes in a VFL practice match on Friday.
Defender-turned-forward Cale Hooker will play close to the whole game after overcoming a hamstring issue.
Young defender Aaron Francis played "80-90 per cent" in a VFL practice match last week and despite a couple of knocks, should be fine.
"He got thrown in a sling tackle and jarred his ankle a little bit but kept playing," Crow said.
"He then jarred his hip landing, but apart from those little incidents in the game, he's going ok."
In positive news for the Dons, former Lion Josh Green will be in the mix to face the Hawks in round one after spending time recently in a moon boot.
"Josh is now in a couple of running sessions and football sessions since he was in the boot. He's building up now to be involved in some football on Friday and then put himself available to play round one," Crow said.
