High profile Essendon recruit Mark Williams' unimpressive debut season with the AFL club will end within a week or two, unless he proves he can play through ankle pain.

The former Hawthorn premiership forward played the first four rounds with the Bombers, with his only real impact coming when he kicked four goals in round three to help Essendon down Carlton.

Poor form and ankle problems have since kept him sidelined, and he could soon be admitted for surgery.

But football manager Paul Hamilton said he would first be given a "last shot" in the VFL this weekend to play through the injury.

"If we feel that he's really not coping with the injury, we're just going to have to bite the bullet and say 'Okay, that's it for the year, get him in for surgery,' and start looking into next pre-season," Hamilton told the club's website.

"He can do things, but he's in pain. They're trying another technique with the physio at the moment. This (weekend) is sort of his last shot at it, really."

Hamilton said the 27-year-old, 115-game veteran had been rested for the past few weeks in a final effort to try to avoid ending his season prematurely.

"If he's still having troubles and concerns with it in another week or two, we have to look at having surgery, but (otherwise) he's almost definitely going to have to have surgery at the end of the year," he said.

In brighter news for the Bombers, fellow forward Angus Monfries is set to return against Melbourne on Sunday, after missing the past three games with a hamstring strain.

But ruckman David Hille could miss three more matches after last week reinjuring a hamstring he originally strained in round 11.

Hamilton said the club would be conservative with Hille's return date, given the latest injury was a recurrence.

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