Essendon coach Brad Scott has provided an injury update on ruckman Nick Bryan after the key tall was subbed out of Saturday night's clash with Melbourne.
Bryan was engaging in a ruck contest against Melbourne's Max Gawn in the first half of the opening term before falling over clutching at his right knee.
The Bombers ruckman was seen assessing his injury on the sidelines before Essendon activated their substitute, with Bryan missing the remainder of the match.
In horrific news for the emerging 23-year-old, Bryan is likely to have suffered a ruptured ACL, likely leaving the Bomber sidelined for 12 months.
The injury comes just weeks after SSP signing Tom Edwards suffered the same devastating fate.
Brad Scott said Bryan's injury was "the unfortunate reality" of AFL, and that the club would wrap their arms around him.
"We've got our fingers crossed, but we suspect that's an ACL so it's devastating for Nick if that's the case," Scott said.
"We'll obviously get a scan to confirm that. I thought he started the game really well, he's really important to us, Draper was a big part of our forward line, so that necessitated a fair change.
"He's trying to (keep) fingers crossed, hoping for the best. He's just had to grind away for a long time in his career, and now he's clearly established himself as a really important part of our best side.
"So to lose Tom Edwards to an ACL and potentially Nick in quick succession is pretty devastating. But again that's the unfortunate reality of AFL football. You get on the roller coaster and have the ups and downs.
"We'll just support Nick, and he's a really important part of our future. So regardless of the outcome, I'm expecting him to be a long-term player for us."
Bryan had played in all Essendon games this year after managing just five in 2024, and a career-high of eight games in a season in 2023.
The 202cm Bomber joins an extended injury list at The Hangar, with key players Kyle Langford, Jye Caldwell, and Matt Guelfi still sidelined.
