ESSENDON will be boosted by the return of Jake Stringer for its must-win clash with Sydney at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Mason Redman will miss the rest of the season as he undergoes knee surgery.

After missing the past fortnight with a calf complaint, Stringer is set to replace injured key forward Shaun McKernan in attack.

Coach John Worsfold said Stringer, who trained with teammates on Tuesday, had ticked all the boxes in order to put his hand up for a recall.

"He's passed, from what I understand, everything that he's had to do and is available," Worsfold said on Tuesday.

"They never ruled him out for a certain number of weeks, there's a lot of factors that go into when they grade injuries and the fact he ran the game out (in round 16) was a real positive."

Having kicked nine goals in three games prior to his injury against Collingwood in round 16, Stringer will provide flexibility for Worsfold in the front half.

Key forward James Stewart, who last played in round 11, will also come under consideration after strong VFL form.

"We've got scenarios to look at," Worsfold said.

"Stewart as a taller forward has been playing pretty good footy for us. We're happy with the mix of having Jake and the other two talls, we've had that a fair part of the year.

With key forward Joe Daniher racing the clock for a late-season return, talls Mitch Brown, Cale Hooker and McKernan were used at various times in attack in last week's win over Fremantle.

Defender Conor McKenna is also in the mix to return, set to be cleared of the groin tightness that led to his withdrawal last week.

Despite Aaron Francis' strong run of form in the VFL, Worsfold hinted the youngster would be made to wait for his first AFL game of the season.

"There is going to be a spot in our team going forward, we've got no doubt about that," Worsfold said.

"Whether this is the perfect time and the right time that Aaron's going to make us a better team, that's the tough challenge for us as selectors to be considering all the time.

"Suffice to say, Aaron's very clear on what's going to make him the elite footballer that we know he's going to become.

"One of those things is to learn how to deal with a little bit of impatience, waiting for the opportunity which a lot of players have to go through."

Worsfold said he won't cave into public pressure to select Francis, who remains contracted with the club for 2019, with his last match coming in round seven, 2017.

"(We) can't just pick Aaron because people are saying he's right to play. We've got four or five players that are playing well enough to be considered for senior selection who can't come into the team," he said.

"Aaron is one of those, and needs to continue to grow as a young footballer and be available and ready to step in when we call him up."

Worsfold refused to buy into the specific match-up with Swans superstar Lance Franklin, who heads to Melbourne smarting after a goalless performance last week against Gold Coast.

Franklin booted four goals in the Swans' elimination final win against the Bombers last season and has kicked 14 goals from four matches at Etihad Stadium this season.

Redman is yet to fully recover from a left ankle injury, but his right knee requires more immediate attention.

"Mason Redman is an interesting one because he had that issue on one side," physical performance manager Justin Crow told essendonfc.com.au.

"What we've known for a while is that he has a meniscal problem on his right side where his knee has locked a few times over the last six months. That was a surgery we were considering him having at the end of the season.

"What we've decided to do is now that he is off crutches on his other side, that we'll get that right-side knee operated on to anchor the meniscus, which is a 10-week rehab from when he has that."