ESSENDON livewire Orazio Fantasia has had another injury setback, with the small forward to miss 2-3 weeks with a quad strain.

Fantasia kicked four goals in Friday night's loss to Sydney in his comeback from two weeks on the sidelines with a virus.

"Orazio pulled up sore following the game on Friday evening with scans later confirming he had sustained a minor strain to his quad," Essendon football manager Dan Richardson said.

"While it is disappointing, Orazio will dedicate himself to his rehabilitation program over the next fortnight to ensure a return to football as soon as possible."

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Speaking on Monday morning, Fantasia said, "I just pulled up a little bit tight in my quad. I felt a bit average after the game so got it checked out. There's a fair bit of blood in there which is what I'm going to get drained out now, so hopefully that makes it feel a lot better."

He said of his recent woes, "I've been pretty crook. I had a virus and I couldn't get out of bed for about seven days, so it shut me down a fair bit. 

"I wanted to play against Geelong but I didn't start training until the Saturday before, so it was pretty high risk to get injured, and then funnily enough, I come back and get injured again. It's pretty frustrating for me."

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The 23-year-old is a key part of Essendon's forward half, but has had a poor run with injury since his breakout 2017 season when he booted 39 goals.

He played only 13 games last year with soft-tissue concerns, and fractured his finger last pre-season.

It is a further blow to an Essendon forward line that has been hit hard by injuries, with Joe Daniher, Mitch Brown, James Stewart, Shaun McKernan and Jayden Laverde among the goalkickers unavailable against the Swans.

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