Essendon has lost key pair Jobe Watson and Dustin Fletcher for this week's clash with Geelong, with both players injured during Saturday night's loss to Richmond.

While Jason Winderlich is expected to return from a long-term back injury through the VFL this week, Watson (groin) and Fletcher (adductor) will miss at least one match.

David Zaharakis will also miss the game against the Cats, with the ankle injury that has seen him miss the last three matches expected to keep him out of the side until after the bye.

An MRI scan on Monday confirmed Watson had suffered a minor strain during the Richmond game - the captain felt restricted during the second half - with 400-gamer Fletcher subbed out late.

"He had a little incident in his adductor and it shows just a strain too," Essendon doctor Bruce Reid told the club's website. "He will miss this week. With that sort of injury – it's at the lower end."

Winderlich has not played all year, and was placed on the long-term injury list at the start of the season after a pre-season severely hampered by back problems.

His return to play means the Bombers must move Shaun McKernan back to the rookie list. McKernan has played one senior game since being elevated in place of Winderlich.

Heath Hocking and Nick Kommer are moving closer to a return, with midfielder David Myers aiming to play again in July after damaging a shoulder in round one.

Reid indicated Zaharakis would likely not be back until after the bye, with the Bombers playing the Cats and West Coast before their break.

"David's ankle is coming along ok, I don't expect him to play under two weeks," Reid said.

At Hawthorn, key playmakers Jordan Lewis and Grant Birchall are set to return for Sunday's match against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

The Hawks took a cautious approach with both players - Lewis with a shoulder complaint and Birchall with a sore ankle - by leaving them out of Saturday's win over the Gold Coast in Tasmania.

However key defender James Frawley said the update on Monday was that both players would be available to play against the Saints, provided they got through training this week as expected.

The Western Bulldogs should also be bolstered for Saturday night's match against Port Adelaide which, in the long run, could prove valuable to both team's finals chances.

Versatile forwards Jake Stringer and Stewart Crameri are both in line for recalls, with Stringer having recovered from the illness that forced him out of the win over GWS, and Crameri's hip tightness benefiting from a week's rest.

However it is not all good news for the Dogs, with football general manager Graham Lowe confirming that young gun Marcus Bontempelli (adductor) and veteran Liam Picken (hamstring) are both in doubt due to soreness arising from the Giants game.

There might not be any immediate impact on the injury front for Collingwood leading into Monday's Queen's Birthday match against Melbourne - other than that defender Adam Oxley is expected to be available despite being subbed out of the North Melbourne game with a sore neck – however there is a positive outlook for several important players.

Key recruit Levi Greenwood, who has not played this season because of a fractured tibia, will make his comeback through the VFL this weekend, as will highly-rated father-son Darcy Moore, on return from a hamstring injury.

Pies football general manager Neil Balme said he did not expect either player to complete a full game, but was buoyed by the development, as he was from the progress made by injury-ravaged key defender Ben Reid and player-maker Clinton Young in the state league over the weekend.