Essendon midfielder Jonathan Simpkin will spend at least the next six weeks on the sidelines after scans revealed the extent of the damage to his hamstring.

Simpkin strained his hamstring in the first half of the match against Sydney.

Scans also revealed damage to the tendon.

“We had Jonathan’s hamstring injury scanned, obviously he’s got a hamstring strain,” High Performance Manager Justin Crow said.

“Unfortunately that hamstring strain involves the tendon as well as the muscle and for that reason Jonathan will be looking to return after the bye.”

Simpkin played the opening match of the season against Gold Coast but then had to wait five weeks for another opportunity in the senior line-up.

He made the most of his chance, collecting 25 possessions against Carlton and was busy in the early stages against the Swans before he suffered the injury.

He’s the second player in the last fortnight to injure his hamstring, though the strain suffered by Mathew Stokes last week isn’t as serious.

The former Cats should return in a fortnight.

“We’ve picked up an injury during the match in the last couple of weeks, but overall I’m really happy with the state of our list,” Crow said.

“Hopefully we can keep that injury list low and under control.”

Aaron Francis is edging closer to a return.

The number six draft pick hurt his calf in the days leading up to the opening round of the VFL season.

Crow expects him to play next week.

“Aaron is getting really close – he’ll do 90 per cent of the session tomorrow with the guys and he’ll be pushing really hard to be available not this weekend but the weekend after,” he said.

Alex Morgan played his first VFL game on the weekend and got through unscathed.

The former Oakleigh Charger played in the NAB Challenge match against Geelong but when he felt some hamstring tightness in the weeks that followed, he was taken out of the program and given an opportunity to build-up his strength and conditioning.

He picked up 15 possessions in the Bombers VFL win over Geelong last Saturday.