Essendon captain James Hird has undergone surgery to repair a broken finger and is expected to miss his side's next two AFL matches.

Hird fractured the little finger on his right hand in the first five minutes of last Saturday's 26-point loss to Richmond, but bravely played on with the injury.

Essendon officials said Hird had a plate and screws inserted into the fracture and he would definitely miss the match against Collingwood on Friday night at the MCG.

Depending on his recovery, he could also miss the Bombers' match the following week against Brisbane.

Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy paid tribute to Hird's courage to play on, despite knowing the extent of his injury during the match.

"It was a terrific effort by Jim to play with a broken hand," Sheedy said.

"He did everything we asked, which was to maintain a presence on the field, run everywhere, run to block and tag for his teammates.

"He could hardly handle the ball and he was being tagged himself, so he had to push players away.

"It was a pretty courageous effort."

Essendon's loss to the Tigers at the MCG last weekend virtually ended their hopes of making this year's AFL finals, meaning the Bombers are unlikely to rush back their superstar.

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