Star Bombers defender Ridley sidelined with quad injury

Murray is out for the year after rupturing his ACL, while Rankine is expected to miss a month with a hamstring injury.

Bomber Ridley hurt his quad during the last quarter of the Bombers' 41-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.

Until that point, he'd been Essendon's best player on the ground with a 29-possession, 14-mark outing.

The Bombers on Monday confirmed the 24-year-old suffered a "high-grade" quad strain.

"It's disappointing for Rids who has been one of our most consistent players this season," Essendon performance manager Dan McPherson said.

"We'll get a more accurate sense of his potential return-to-play timeline in the next week or so, but at this early stage we believe he is unlikely to play before the last round of the home-and-away season."

Essendon slumped to 11th with the loss to the Bulldogs but have winnable games against Sydney, West Coast, North Melbourne and GWS, before a final round showdown with premiership favourites Collingwood.

Adelaide, who are in a battle of their own to make finals ranked 13th, won't have Murray after he landed heavily on his knee following a contest in the loss to Melbourne.

"Obviously it's shattering news for Nick and the team," Adelaide high performance manager Darren Burgess said after scans on Monday confirmed Murray would need a knee reconstruction.

"He's been in great form and taken significant steps in his development in the past three years.

"Knowing the player he is, he will attack his rehab with the right attitude and be back bigger and better."

The Crows will also need to find another livewire up forward to keep their season alive, with Rankine out for three to four weeks after a campaign in which he's found 35 goals.

"Izak has had hamstring injuries in the past so he knows what is required with his rehabilitation and will work closely with our medical team to get back," Burgess said.