ESSENDON star defender Michael Hurley is continuing his support of former coach James Hird, endorsing his former mentor's eventual return to the game.

Hird stepped down as Bombers coach this year while fighting ASADA and the AFL over the club's supplements saga.

He was suspended by the AFL for 12 months in late 2013 for his role in the scandal and controversially returned to his post once the suspension had been served.

'It's about the facts': Hird speaks out

Hurley told Adelaide radio station FIVEaa it had been troubling to watch someone he considered a close friend experience such hardships in recent years.

"James was fantastic for my footy and a good friend of mine, so to see him go through these sorts of things is hard," Hurley said.

"He's had a tough time and hopefully going forward everything can take care of itself and he can get a bit of weight off his shoulders.

"I think it'd be fantastic to see him involved in footy … his knowledge of the game is second to none and as a player he was obviously incredible.

"I think he has the attributes to be a great coach … hopefully things can clear up and hopefully he can get involved in footy at some stage in the future."

New Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner suggested last week that Hird would be welcomed back at the club at a time that suited the former coach.

Having broken for the Christmas break, Hurley will return to work in early January eyeing a prompt return to full training.

The 25-year-old had his right shoulder reconstructed in September and is already back running and completing skill work.

He won't return to full contact training for at least another month, but believed he would be fit to feature in the Bombers' NAB Challenge campaign, which kicks off against Carlton on February 28.

"It's going quite well, I've actually been lucky enough to do 90 per cent of the ball work so far in this part of pre-season," Hurley said.

"It's really only the contact, tackling and spoiling and things like that that's going to take slightly longer.

"I'll hopefully be in full training and full match-play come the start of February."