Essendon is breathing a major sign of relief today after star forward Jake Stringer was cleared of a fracture in his lower leg.

There were fears for Stringer’s immediate playing future after he limped off in the third quarter of the Bombers’ 19-point win and failed to return to the game.

However, the Bombers revealed that scans had cleared the 25-year-old of any serious injury.

Despite avoiding a long-term injury, Essendon’s General Manager of Football, Dan Richardson, said the club would monitor Stringer’s health ahead of next week’s clash against West Coast.

“We’re pleased the scans have revealed no fractures to the bone or damage to the ankle area,” Richardson told the Bombers’ website.

“Jake is still very sore today, and we’re hopeful his pain in the lower leg area settles over the coming days.

“At the moment it is difficult to put a time frame on his playing availability, so while it is unlikely he will play, we will closely monitor Jake throughout the week before we make an informed decision on our team selection for Thursday’s clash.”

Stringer suffered a serious leg injury in his TAC cup days as a youngster, and saw the lighter side to his injury this time around.

“The bone wasn’t sticking out of my leg, so that was one bonus compared to the last one, but we’ll just wait and see,” he told Nine News.

Essendon can ill-afford to lose the service of Stringer long-term given the depleted nature of its forward line.