Essendon coach John Worsfold has confirmed small forward Orazio Fantasia is in serious doubt to get up for Anzac Day.
Fantasia is struggling with a calf injury and Worsfold said he’s running out of time to prove his fitness.
“He’s pushing to try and get up, but at this stage it looks like he’ll probably miss,” Worsfold told SEN’s Whateley.
“We will obviously assess him again tomorrow and just get a feel for where he’s at and then it comes down to the medical call in association with how Fantasia is feeling.
“At this stage he’s unlikely.”
With Essendon set to play on Wednesday and then again on Sunday, Worsfold said the club has to worry about Anzac Day and can’t rest players’ loads for Round 6’s clash with Melbourne.
“We really just look at if they’re available for Wednesday and treat this really in isolation and treat this like any other game, disregarding what’s happening in the next week,” he said.
“So if they’re available and in our best team, they’ll be selected and then we’ll deal with the outcome of that on Thursday.
“You can do some planning and then players pull up sore and that flips everything on its head.”
Essendon and Collingwood will clash in the traditional Anzac Day contest on Wednesday afternoon.