Essendon has received another cruel blow with midfielder Mark McVeigh expected to miss up to five weeks with a knee injury.

The 27-year-old will have surgery today to repair damaged knee cartilage.

The Bombers suffered a string of injuries this season and coach Matthew Knights recently credited greater stability as the key to his side's improved performances.

McVeigh has averaged 23 disposals in 12 games this year since returning from a hamstring injury.

His knee injury is a massive blow for the 12th-placed Bombers, who play Richmond at the MCG on Saturday in a match both clubs need to win to keep their finals hopes alive.

"It is an old injury that has flared up over time this season and, unfortunately, it has reached the stage where we need to rectify it," Essendon team manager David Calthorpe said.

The timing could barely have been worse for the Bombers after Andrew Lovett was handed a club-imposed two-match suspension this week for disciplinary reasons.

Full-back Dustin Fletcher spoke to McVeigh on Tuesday night and said he was "definitely disappointed" to be sidelined on the back of four exciting wins.

"So are we, because he's been in great form and one of our top midfielders for the year," he said. "I think his knee had been sore the last couple of weeks and he had been managing it all right."

Ricky Dyson and rookie Jarrod Atkinson have been earmarked as possible replacements for McVeigh.

And West Coast's season from hell has received another blow with Brett Jones and Adam Hunter set to go under the knife within weeks.

Hunter is battling both a shoulder and knee complaint. But it is Jones, who is battling a serious knee injury, who is of most concern to the club's medical staff.

Coach John Worsfold said it was yet to be determined when the pair would undergo the season-ending surgery but indicated it would be sooner rather than later.

Mitch Brown (knee), Beau Waters (elbow) and Chris Masten (groin) have already had their seasons ended by injury, while Shannon Hurn (leg) and Matt Rosa (ankle) are unlikely to appear again this year.

The news is another bitter blow to the Eagles, who have only two wins from 15 rounds and are in grave danger of collecting their first wooden spoon.

And Worsfold remained tight-lipped about what additional penalty Daniel Kerr received from the club's leadership group following his three-match ban for an off-the-ball whack on Richmond's Matt White.

With AAP