Carlton captain Marc Murphy and leadership group member Andrew Walker missed last Thursday's clash against Hawthorn and have been left out of the squad to take on Essendon as the Blues carefully manage both ahead of the home and away season.


Murphy is returning from minor shoulder surgery in December, while Walker has been working hard all summer to get on top of the knee problems that have plagued him over the past two seasons.
 


Coach Brendon Bolton said he was hopeful the pair would return in the club's final NAB Challenge game against the Sydney Swans on March 11.
 


"We've managed [Walker's] work loads, he's been in the system a long time now. [Murphy] is back on his legs and doing some really hard conditioning work at the moment.
 


"We're hopeful by the end of the NAB Challenge we’ll see them out there."
 


Emerging star Patrick Cripps has also been left out of the squad for Sunday's game after a knock at training this week left him with a bruised knee.
 


Bolton said Cripps' omission was largely precautionary.
 


"There's a fair few weeks left before round one so we're not going to risk it at this stage," he said.