Duscher was a late withdrawal from the Gold side which defeated Werribee two weeks and wasn’t named for Sunday’s clash with arch-rival North Ballarat in Ballarat.

“Ben has some ankle ligament damage and he could end up missing next game as well,’’ Gold general manager Graham Pratt said last night.

“It’s a shame because he was playing good footy.”

Duscher and youngster Ariel Steinberg are the only players missing from a near full-strength squad for Sunday’s clash.

Essendon-listed trio Jason Winderlich, Mark McVeigh and Tayte Pears are back in the Gold side.

“It’s probably as strong an Essendon group as we’ve had all year,’’ Pratt said.

“We won’t know until tomorrow afternoon as to exactly who we have from Essendon, but it’s fair to say we’ll have a strong side.”

The unlucky player to miss out could be Bendigo-listed forward Steven Stroobants.

Stroobants has performed well when given his chance at VFL level this year.

“We’ve been very happy with Stroobs,’’ Pratt said.

“I’d love to see him play this week.”

South Bendigo won’t complain if Stroobants misses out on Gold selection.

The Bloods play QEO co-tenant Sandhurst in a crucial BFNL game tomorrow and would dearly love to have Stroobants running through their midfield.