Essendon's bid for a top-four spot has taken a hit with news sidelined best and fairest David Zaharakis will miss a further four matches.
Having already spent four weeks sidelined with a torn quadriceps tendon, Zaharakis has experienced persistent soreness and will not be in line to return for at least another month.
"I'd say he's at least four or five weeks away from coming back, it's not a good injury he had and we want to be very cautious," Bombers coach James Hird told reporters on Friday.
"If you ask anyone who's had (quadricep injuries), you have to be very careful with them and he's a fantastic player for us, our reigning best and fairest, a young player.
"We're going to be really, really careful with his quad so we've got him for our last four or five games, or two or three games of the year."
The Dons take on St Kilda on Saturday night before clashes against Port Adelaide, Geelong and Hawthorn.
Meanwhile veteran Jason Winderlich has been named to make his long-awaited comeback after injuring an anterior cruciate ligament in Round 4 last season.
The 27-year-old midfielder will play in the VFL for Bendigo Bombers on Sunday against North Ballarat.