Conor McKenna will miss the International Rules Series after sustaining an ankle injury during training with his Irish teammates.

The 21 year old became a regular feature in the Essendon line-up during 2017 and was set to square off against teammates Brendon Goddard and Zach Merrett in next month’s two-test series.

“It’s obviously disappointing for Conor because he was really looking forward to representing Ireland in the International Rules Series,” Essendon’s General Manager of Football Rob Kerr said.

“He hurt his ankle at training last Friday and has seen a specialist in Ireland who has placed him in a walker boot.

"Once he is out of the boot he will return to Australia to progress his rehabilitation.

“There may be some disruption to the early part of his pre-season but we expect he’ll join in full training fairly quickly.”

McKenna played 19 games for the Bombers in 2017, taking his career tally to 33.