Sydney stalwart Adam Goodes is confident he’ll return for the Swans before the AFL finals – and with his explosive speed intact.
The reigning premiers’ clash with Collingwood on Saturday night will be the seventh match Goodes has missed since injuring his knee against Port Adelaide in round 13.
Swans coach John Longmire said on Tuesday he thought Goodes was still three or four weeks away from being available, meaning a final-round Friday night blockbuster against Hawthorn could potentially be his only chance to find match fitness before September.
The dual Brownlow medallist, who resumed outside running this week and is renowned for his rehabilitative skills, delivered a more upbeat prognosis earlier in the week.
“It’s looking really positive,” Goodes told radio station SEN.
“I probably need about two weeks of running outside before I can come back and play.
“Maybe another two more weeks … that’s without any hiccups on the way.”
The Swans have been sailing without their talisman, registering six wins on the trot since losing to the Power when Goodes was substituted out of the match.
But the addition of the club’s games record-holder would be a major boost ahead of the finals, especially if he’s anywhere near his best.
“I lost a bit of my cartilage, I’ve still got two-thirds of it there,” the 33-year-old said.
“Talking to other past players, by the end of their careers they were playing without cartilage in their knees – it was bone on bone.
“I’m definitely not at that level. I don’t think it (the knee surgery) will slow me down, I’ve had this knee operated on before and my pace has been always there.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Goodes also discussed the lasting impact that racial vilification has.
“It does affect you, and it still affects you,” he replied when asked about the furore ignited by comments in May from Eddie McGuire and a teenage Collingwood supporter.
“My cousin Travvie Varcoe was racially abused (playing for Geelong) over in Adelaide the other week and it reminds you of what happened to you.
“Not only what happened to me this year, but what’s happened to me the majority of my life.
“Whenever you see someone else get racially abused or hear about it – it just takes you back to when you were racially abused and the ones that hurt you the most.
“I’ve been pretty upbeat about it since it happened, but you have times there when you are sitting alone and you think of things – and you still get upset.
“Because it’s one of those things that when someone cuts you down to your core as a person, it really hurts.
“I am very lucky to have great family and friends around me to help pick me up.”