The midfielder injured his ankle at the Bombers’ training session on Friday morning.

Essendon’s general manager of football Dan Richardson said the 23-year-old underwent scans, which confirmed the sprain to his left ankle.

“Unfortunately, Zach suffered the injury during a competitive training drill earlier this morning which was scanned immediately, and subsequently he will be required to wear a moon boot for approximately two weeks,” Richardson said.

“We expect a clearer picture on his return to training once swelling in the affected ankle subsides over the next week.

“At this point, we don’t anticipate the injury will impact Zach’s availability for the commencement of the season.”

Merrett has played 103 games for Essendon since making his AFL debut against North Melbourne in 2014. He won the Bombers’ best and fairest in 2016 and followed up in 2017 with All-Australian selection.