Sydney remain unsure about Lance Franklin’s much-awaited 300th AFL game, with coach John Longmire pointing out he has to train first.
The Swans have also pulled the pin on ruckman Callum Sinclair’s season, with surgery this week on his shoulder to put him out of action for about four months.
But fellow ruckman Sam Naismith will resume in the NEAFL this week as he closes on a comeback from a knee reconstruction.
Injuries have restricted Franklin to only nine games this season and he has been out of action since round 14 because of a hamstring problem.
“He’s still a little bit sore in his hamstring, so he definitely won’t be playing this week and he still might be unlikely for next week as well,” Longmire said.
“We have to make sure we get him right and have him training.
“He’s been able to run, but is not into our training sessions yet and that’s the most important thing – we need him out there training with us, to make him resilient enough to not be injured.”
Franklin is on 299 games, but Longmire said the milestone would have no bearing on when he returns.
“He’ll play no matter where that is, so our main thought is just get him right,” Longmire said.
Sinclair has been out of action since dislocating his shoulder twice in round 15 and the Swans decided last week to make the call on surgery.
“It was taking a little bit longer to get right than what we hoped,” Longmire said.
But the news is much brighter for Naismith.
“It’s just great to have him back in training and running around, giving us another option in the ruck,” Longmire said.
“When you’ve missed as much football as Sam – I think he’s played 29 games in six years … you need to come back in and get playing again.
“He’s really looking forward to that.”
While the Swans are on a three-game losing streak, Sunday’s SCG match is a danger game for Geelong given their wobbly form.
“We played a fair bit of footy last week at the right levels and we just had execution problems at times and maybe dropped our concentration at times,” Longmire said of their one-point away loss to Fremantle.