Essendon are unsure of the extent of star midfielder Darcy Parish's latest calf concern, with the All-Australian a chance to be one of three big inclusions for the Bombers' Dreamtime clash.
Parish was a late out ahead of Sunday's meeting with North Melbourne due to the ailment, with young midfielder Elijah Tsatas brought into the starting side in his place.
The change came after the Bomber lost Nik Cox to illness earlier in the week, with the young tall also making way for Dylan Shiel.
Coach Brad Scott is confident the club will have both Cox and defender Jordan Ridley (quad) available for Round 11, however Parish's prospects are less certain.
Speaking after his side's 40-point win over the Kangaroos, Scott said Parish could've been used but would have been risked if selected.
"We don't think it's serious. He's got a tight calf," Scott said.
"Even if he could get through and not get injured, is he going to play at his best? The game is too hard for that.
"It's not like he was no chance of playing, but the decision for me was really easy, particularly when Elijah Tsatas was there.
"I'd just be speculating at the moment. There was no incident he just felt tight in the car for the game. So we just do it on the side of caution, but I can't give an update as to whether it'd be right."
Parish, Cox and Ridley's potential inclusions will only add to the selection headaches for Scott, whose side sits second on the ladder after 10 games.
There's unlikely to be any forced changes from the team that held off a fighting North Melbourne outfit, with midfielder Sam Durham not expected to miss any action following neck and ankle knocks in the game.
Scott detailed Durham was held from returning to the field given the risk and the fact the Roos were already down to three on their own interchange.
"We just took the opportunity to manage him," Scott said of the young onballer.
"The way he plays, he gets banged up a bit. He copped a couple of big knocks in the game.
"We had him sitting there ready to come back on if we needed to, but we just chose to leave him off.
"North also had (Miller) Bergman injured as well and they already made their sub. So we sort of looked at that on balance. We're not going to get outrun in terms of numbers. So we just chose to leave him off."
The Bombers will remain in Melbourne for next Saturday's Dreamtime clash with the Tigers, which is scheduled for a 7:40 pm (AEST) start.
