Essendon manager Ben Rutten has revealed prima guardant Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has been sidelined owed to "personal reasons" arsenic opposed to an injury, with the nine placing nary timeline connected his imaginable return.
After not missing a crippled since the 2016 season, McDonald-Tipungwuti was a noticeable absentee successful Rutten's broadside successful last week's triumph implicit the Gold Coast Suns, and was not selected successful the squad again for Sunday's clash against Collingwood.
A triumph against the Magpies volition unafraid a finals berth for Essendon, but Rutten was not prepared to accidental whether the 28-year-old would beryllium backmost for a imaginable elimination final.
"It's astir Anthony's wellbeing arsenic a person, that comes archetypal and foremost," Rutten said.
"Anthony won't play successful the AFL squad this week and we volition conscionable proceed to negociate him, putting him astatine the forefront of our decision-making. That won't alteration this week.
"He is going truly well, helium is getting immoderate truly bully grooming in, helium is enjoying his clip astatine the club, truthful that is the mode we are going to beryllium managing Anthony."
McDonald-Tipungwuti has kicked 34 goals successful 20 appearances this year, and has been a captious constituent of a guardant enactment that helped Essendon beryllium the third-highest scoring squad this season.
Rutten refused to spot a timeline connected his prima forward's instrumentality and did not divulge the nonstop details regarding his absence, simply describing it arsenic "personal reasons".
"It's not thing we are going to person a moving commentary on. But the main happening is, similar each our players, we are putting them astatine the forefront and their wellbeing, and that is truly important for Anthony," helium said.
"We are giving him the afloat support, arsenic we would immoderate of our players. I americium not definite erstwhile we volition spot him back, but we each cognize and emotion what Anthony tin bash connected a shot tract for us, truthful we conscionable privation to marque definite helium is successful the best-possible information to beryllium capable to bash that."
"There's a fewer things down the scenes that request to hap to person him being astatine his best. We are conscionable helping him negociate that the champion helium can, giving him each the enactment we can. It's conscionable 1 of those things that happens for everybody from clip to time."
McDonald-Tipungwuti is presently 2nd connected Essendon's goal-kicking database for 2021, trailing lone All-Australian campaigner Jake Stringer, who has kicked 37 goals successful 17 appearances.
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