Essendon has set its focus on the future with the selection of three first-gamers for Sunday's clash with Port Adelaide at Telstra Dome.

Key forward and father-son selection Darcy Daniher, the club's top pick at last year's National Draft, David Myers - a key defender from Claremont - and mature-age rookie Jarrod Atkinson, promoted in place of Alwyn Davey, will make their AFL debuts.

Seated alongside the trio at Windy Hill on Thursday morning, senior coach Matthew Knights denied their selection was simply a reaction to the club's growing injury list.

"There's no reaction in my coaching, it's about where this club is headed for the future," said Knights.

"Sure, we've got a few injuries … but that's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned because we’ve got 44 on our list and that's what they're there to do, play AFL footy."

"(There's) no risk at all - not a bit, not a risk where the club is heading and what our vision is for the future."

"Whoever we put out on the ground we expect to win footy games and the team we put out there against Port Adelaide on Sunday we expect to win the game."

With four players who took part in the Anzac Day loss to Collingwood - Dustin Fletcher (groin), Jason Winderlich (groin), Adam Ramanauskas (gastro) and Kyle Reimers (foot) - unavailable this week, Knights flagged the prospects of further changes for Sunday.

Already ruled out are Damien Peverill (broken jaw) and Alwyn Davey (knee reconstruction), while Knights confirmed that defender-midfielder Courtenay Dempsey who's in rehab with a torn hamstring, has been diagnosed with stress fractures which will extend his time on the sidelines to up to eight weeks.

Scott Gumbleton would have been right to return from his hamstring tear this week but Bendigo has a bye in the VFL, though Leroy Jetta, who has missed three matches with a hamstring, is a chance for senior selection this week.

Knights said he hoped that Fletcher would be available for the club's Round 8 clash with Sydney the week after the break for the Hall of Fame Tribute match.

"Sure there's some casualties, but we can’t do a lot about that, we can only look forward to playing Port with these three young men and the other guys who will come into the team," said Knights.

Knights agreed the mounting injury list had presented challenges for him as a coach, but that he believed he was coping well.

"I