Another Bomber sidelined

DEVON Smith’s frustrating 2022 season has taken yet another twist with a fresh knee setback set to sideline him for up to four weeks.

It comes as young Bomber Nik Cox will be given until the last possible minute to prove his fitness from an ankle injury ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Hawthorn.

The Bombers have endured a miserable season with only one win from seven games, with their playing stocks also stretched by a series of injuries to key players, including Jake Stringer who will miss a month with yet another hamstring injury.

Smith has been one of the club’s whipping boys, having been demoted to the medi-sub at one stage of the season before being axed to the VFL a few weeks back due to indifferent form.

He didn’t play in the VFL last week after suffering swelling in his knee following PCL surgery. The club expects him to miss between two and four weeks.

“Dev has had some knee pain and swelling. It’s something he’s been dealing with since he had his PCL surgery,” Essendon head of high performance Sean Murphy said.

“He’s not feeling quite right to get out there and perform, so we’re going to give him a couple of weeks to settle that down and then build him back up again.”