ESSENDON recruit Josh Green will have to wait before facing his former side the Brisbane Lions after straining his hamstring in round one.

The small forward picked up 11 disposals in his debut for Essendon against the Hawks on Saturday night, offering good pace and smarts in attack and setting up several scoring opportunities.

He was set to return to the Gabba to face the Lions on Saturday night but has been ruled out for at least two weeks after suffering the injury.

"Josh Green was sprinting late in the game – he felt tight in his hamstring, came off and we didn't end up bringing him back on," said the club's high performance manager Justin Crow.

"We've had the hamstring scanned and what he's got is the lowest grade hamstring strain where the fascia around the outside of the muscle is interrupted.

"There is no real muscle fibre disruption which is a good thing but the bad news for 'Greeny' is he won't be available against Brisbane. Normally with these injuries players miss two games."

Green played 81 games for the Lions between 2011-16, booting 107 goals in that time before joining the Bombers as a delisted free agent at the end of last season.

His first pre-season at Essendon was interrupted by a foot injury, but he overcame the issue to win a place in its round one side that beat Hawthorn by 25 points.