Essendon forward Joe Daniher will miss at least a month of footy after scans revealed the early onset of osteitis pubis, as reported www.essendonfc.com.au.
Daniher, who pulled up sore from the Bombers' loss to the Hawks, has been heavily scrutinised this season after booting just eight goals from seven matches.
And the club confirmed on Tuesday that he has been battling an ongoing groin issue that flared up on the weekend.
“Going right back at the very end of last season Joe had some groin pain,” Bombers physical performance manager Justin Crow told the club's website.
“We gave him some time off and rest for the off-season then a strengthening program and a progressive rehabilitation and build up throughout the pre-season to the point where he was up and playing games at the start of the year.
“Unfortunately on the back of a compression incident against Fremantle (in round two) the condition has raised its head again.”
Crow confirmed that while Daniher has been fit to take the field in the opening seven rounds, he has not been participating in a full training schedule.
“We’ve been monitoring it closely since then, managing Joe’s training workloads in conjunction with him and getting him to the point where he’s been able to play games.
“But in that sense it has been affecting his ability to complete all of his training.”
After a setback against Hawthorn triggered Daniher's injury, the club decided to further investigate the matter.
“In the second half against Hawthorn Joe felt heavy in his groins and that prompted us to follow up with a scan to see how his condition was progressing,” Crow said.
“It showed some signal in his pubis indicating early onset of osteitis pubis.”
The Bombers will now proceed with caution and put their young forward through a full rehabilitation program to ensure he is fit and firing upon returning.
“With Joe’s long-term health and career being our biggest priority, in conjunction with Joe, we’ve made the decision to take him out of the program and give him a full rehabilitation to make sure that gets better.
“That will be a minimum of four weeks (on the sidelines), but we’ll be taking as long as required to make sure that Joe is fully recovered and available to play at his best.”