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Injured Essendon forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has been granted a leave of absence by the AFL club to deal with personal matters.
The 28-year-old fan-favourite has been battling a calf injury in pre-season but the Bombers announced on Saturday he will also take time away from the club with their full support.
“Anthony has been very open with us about some of his personal struggles and coupled with his recovery from a calf injury, we felt this leave period was in the best interests to support Anthony,” Bombers’ football manager Josh Mahoney said.
“He is a much loved member of our football club and we will continue to care for and fully support Anthony throughout this time, and we look forward to his return in the future.”
The goalsneak sat out the last three matches of Essendon’s 2021 season including an elimination-final defeat to the Western Bulldogs for personal reasons.
The 126-gamer had earlier kicked an equal career-best 34 goals in 20 appearances last season before his campaign was cut short.
Essendon are seeking successive top-eight finishes in 2022 and begin their AFL premiership season against Geelong on March 19.
McDonald-Tipungwuti has missed just four games since debuting for the Bombers in their 2016 wooden spoon season in the aftermath of the supplements saga.
Three of those games came at the end of the 2021 season, including missing their elimination final defeat to the Western Bulldogs for personal reasons.
© AAP
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