Essendon livewire Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has been granted a leave of absence away from the club due to personal reasons.

The Bombers confirmed on Saturday morning the club has been supporting the 28-year old in recent months as he deals with a personal issues while also managing a calf injury over the pre-season.

Dons football boss Josh Mahoney said McDonald-Tipungwuti had full support of the club throughout this period.

“The wellbeing of our players and staff is always our priority when guiding our decision making. It was the driving force behind our decision to run a part-time program pre-Christmas which benefited all involved in our program,” Mahoney said in a statement.

“With this in mind, we have prioritised Anthony‘s wellbeing in making a decision to grant him time away from the club.

“Anthony has been very open with us about some of his personal struggles, and coupled with his recovery from a calf injury, we felt this leave period was in the best interests to support Anthony.

“He is a much-loved member of our football club, and we will continue to care for and fully support Anthony throughout this time. We look forward to his return in the future.”

McDonald-Tipungwuti missed several games at the end of last season including the Bombers’ finals series due to personal reasons.

Essendon has put no timeline on his return to the club.

The forward has booted 153 goals from 126 games since joining the Bombers at the end of 2015.

It comes a month out from Essendon’s opening pre-season clash against St Kilda on Saturday March 6 at Marvel Stadium.