Joe Daniher's immediate future with football will be decided at a meeting on Saturday for the Essendon Football Club, prior to the club's crucial clash with Collingwood on Sunday.
The star forward is nearing two-and-a-half months on the sidelines due to a debilitating groin injury, having struggled with fitness throughout an inconsistent season for the Dons.
A host of the club's medical and coaching staff are set to meet over the weekend to map out his future and a timeline for recovery.
"We've got a big group discussion about where he's at and what his program is going forward on Saturday," Essendon coach John Worsfold explained.
"(The meeting) will be everyone involved in Joe's welfare, so it'll be doctors, physios, his coach, myself, our performance guys, our conditioning guys and the weights coaches.
"There will be a lot of people sitting there talking about Joe's groin."
Daniher's potential return would provide the Bombers with a much-needed surge of power in their pivotal encounter with arch-rivals Collingwood on Sunday.
Essendon's position in the finals race was stressed by Worsfold to not be of any impact on Daniher's recovery.
In a stroke of good fortune for the Dons, gun midfield duo David Zaharakis and Darcy Parish are set to make a return in coming weeks.
Zaharakis has been out for more than a month following surgery for a broken collarbone; Parish even longer with a fractured thumb.
Though neither will feature at any level this weekend, the Bombers are hopeful to see a quick return to the senior team and aid them in their finals push.
