He excelled in the heat of the midfield last Saturday night, but the heat of the kitchen nearly brought Dyson Heppell undone a day later.

The Essendon Captain injured his hand and required stitches after a ‘microwave mishap’.

But he’s allayed any fears he’s in doubt for Sunday’s match against West Coast.

“The other night on my birthday actually I was defrosting some steaks in the microwave, went to grab the plate out of the microwave and dropped it – got the fumbles,” he said.

“I tried to catch it again and the plate had smashed on the bench and I got a good gouge in my hand.

“I rang the ‘Doc’ straight away and he put a couple of stitches to fix the hand.

“I’ll be cherry ripe, I’ve just had the last couple of days doing one-handed stuff and I’ll be right to go for main training on Thursday and then tear in on Sunday.”