RETURNING Essendon ruckman Tom Bellchambers will miss eight weeks as he undergoes knee surgery.

The ruckman is dealing with a “knee surface issue” that will see him miss the JLT community series and face a delayed start to 2017.

However, the news is better for fellow Bomber tall Joe Daniher with the forward set to feature in the pre-season after knee issues of his own.

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The Bombers have had a unique pre-season with the return of 10 senior players from a year-long suspension.

Club high performance manager Justin Crow said Bellchambers’ knee hadn’t responded like they had hoped after Christmas.

“Tom has a knee surface issue from a number of years ago that raised its head before Christmas,” he said.

media_camera Tom Bellchambers and Cale Hooker at Essendon training. Picture: Michael Klein

“He’s not quite at 100% so today we sought the advice of his specialist, Julian Feller, and Tom is going to go in for a clean-out of his knee to try to get him to 100%.

“Tom will start running in a month, he’ll build up his football over a month after that and then he’ll be pushing for selection.”

Daniher will return to full training in the next fortnight with the aim of playing in Essendon’s first pre-season game against Collingwood on February 16.

However, Crow said a return in the second or third practice match was more realistic.

“We’ve got to find the balance between filling Joe’s tank up for the season and also getting him to the point, from a football point of view, where he’s ready to play at a high level,” he said.

“We’ll be weighing that up as we go but I’d be thinking more the later end of the Community Series, than the front end.”

media_camera Josh Green and Jobe Watson during an Essendon training camp. Picture: Michael Klein

After the Magpies, the Bombers face Gold Coast in Mackay on February 26 and Geelong in Bendigo on March 12.

Back-up forward-ruckman Shaun McKernan joined in match practice this week after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery at the end of last season.

While former Brisbane Lion Josh Green is progressing well from a foot injury that cruelled his 2016.

“Josh started with us with the background of two different foot stress issues,” he said.

“He’s been brilliant – we’ve been really impressed with the way he’s been able to transform his body.”