Bomber Hurley confident on AFL return

Essendon key defender Michael Hurley says he's confident his body will hold up ahead of his first AFL hitout in more than 12 months.

Essendon key defender Michael Hurley is confident his body will hold up in his AFL return. (AAP)

Essendon defender Michael Hurley is confident his body can handle the rigours of AFL competition after more than 12 months out of the game.

The 2015 All-Australian is one of seven previously banned Bombers preparing to make their AFL returns on Thursday after being named in an extended squad to face Collingwood in a pre-season clash at Etihad Stadium.

AFL great Wayne Carey is among those who have questioned how the players returning from the doping bans will handle the intensity that awaits them.

But Hurley says he is confident of avoiding injuries despite not having played at the top level since September 2015.

"I think the way that we've been able to do some match play training during the weeks for the last month or so ... we've been able to build those loads up that way," he said on Wednesday.

"Obviously the intensity goes up during match play so I think we'll be monitored slightly with our loads come game-day (and) our minutes will progress through the series."

Hurley was one of 34 past and present Bombers to serve a 12-month doping ban last season and has not played since September 2015.

The 26-year-old sent a scare through the Essendon camp earlier in the month when he rolled his ankle during an intra-club match but has recovered well.

All but three of the 10 remaining Bombers who served doping bans last year have been named in the squad for Thursday's game, with former captain Jobe Watson set to line up alongside his successor Dyson Heppell.

Cale Hooker (hamstring), Brent Stanton (groin) and Tom Bellchambers (knee) have been left out of the 29-man squad, which will be trimmed to 26.

Former North Melbourne great Carey, who struggled with soft-tissue injuries after spending a year out of the game late in his career, believes the returning players will struggle to handle the intensity of the AFL.

"It's going to be very telling how they cope with the crash and bash part of the game," Carey told Fairfax Media.

"I learnt a valuable lesson during that time and it's however hard you push yourself, there are special things about our game you can't replicate at the park building up miles in your legs."