Essendon legend Tim Watson has questioned whether the Bombers should move on from one of their injured backmen.
Watson said that Don's backman Jordan Ridley may need to be moved on after suffering another injury, which has led to him playing only 19 games across the last two seasons.
Ridley signed a five-year deal at the club last year and has shown that his best form is fantastic, winning Essendon's Best and Fairest and being named in the All-Australian squad of 40 in 2020 at just 21 years old.
Watson, a three-time premiership player with the Bombers, said that while the backman is a great defender, the best ability is availability, as the Bombers have struggled with injuries this season.
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"When you’ve got a player - and we’re seeing this throughout the course of our playing and also observing of the game – who regularly breaks down with soft tissue injuries, how much then do you start to figure around them in terms of your future compilation of players?" Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
"I don’t want to be disrespectful to him because he is trying, and we’ve just seen some players who just break down regularly and consistently."
Ridley was drafted in 2016 but has managed to play only 104 games for the Dons, over 70 fewer games than teammate Andrew McGrath, who was drafted in the same year.
Watson added that the Bombers may need to think about moving on from Ridley, who has had a range of injuries during his time at the club, if he can't stay on the park.
"For whatever reason, you just can’t rely on them anymore. They must almost be at that stage with Ridley."
"At what stage do you give up on somebody when they’ve got soft tissue injuries?"
The Bombers are currently in 15th position on the ladder with six wins and 12 losses and will take on Sydney this Saturday at the SCG.