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Joe Daniher has suffered a minor calf strain that will push back his injury rehabilitation at Essendon while Conor McKenna faces surgery on his fractured hand.

Essendon forward Joe Daniher has suffered a setback in his AFL injury rehabilitation, while Conor McKenna will need to clear a fitness test to face the Western Bulldogs this week.

Daniher suffered a minor calf strain while training over the weekend - unrelated to his ongoing groin issues - and will be unable to run for close to two weeks.

"Joe felt some soreness in the calf, we had that imaged (scanned) yesterday which will mean he is off running for about 10 to 14 days," Essendon head of medical services David Rundle said.

Daniher has played just 11 games since the start of 2018 and none this year.

Meanwhile, McKenna was due for surgery on a fractured hand - suffered against North Melbourne - on Tuesday and will face fitness testing ahead of Friday's game.

"They'll insert a plate to reduce that fracture," Rundle said.

"This week is a tight turnaround so we'll see how he responds to the operation before we decide whether he can play or not."