Essendon ruckman David Hille says the injury he suffered when stung by a stingray at a Melbourne beach this week might prove a blessing in disguise in his preparation for the AFL season.

Hille, 27, was stung on the right shin on Sunday while training privately at St Kilda beach, and underwent surgery to have the barb removed.

He returned to training with a heavily taped leg on Friday, and admitted he had escaped lightly given the serious injuries stingrays can cause.

Hille said the setback might prove handy in the long run, as it gave him an extra week's rest since injuring a hamstring during the pre-season.

"The majority of what I was doing today was easing myself back in because of my hamstring more so than having the stingray bite," he said.

"It's given my hamstring a couple more days to relax, which is probably not such a bad thing.

"I still feel very fit and it shouldn't be a problem getting back into things once everything's right."

The Bombers have ruled Hille out of their first pre-season game, against the Western Bulldogs in Darwin on February 13.

Hille is the third AFL player to have been stung on Melbourne beaches in the past year, after Bulldog Jarrad Grant and West Coast's Daniel Kerr.

"Obviously I'm training today and I didn't have the pain that Jarrad and perhaps Daniel had, so it seems to be quite a minor event," Hille said.

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