Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh and young gun Callum Mills are expected to train on Wednesday as they seek to prove their fitness before the AFL grand final.
McVeigh (calf), Mills (hamstring) and defender Aliir Aliir (knee) are all racing the clock ahead of Saturday’s season decider against Western Bulldogs.
The injured trio were among a handful of sore Swans to sit out Monday’s hit-out at the SCG.
Sydney’s main session for the week is on Wednesday, when they will be put through their paces.
Aliir, who strained the medial ligament in his right knee in the Swans’ preliminary final win over Geelong, is considered a long-shot to return to the MCG.
But McVeigh and Mills are very much in the mix, having both trained on Sunday.
“We’ll see what Wednesday brings. Each of them is probably different,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
“We certainly expect Callum to do a fair bit, Aliir probably to do a little bit less.
“Jarrad we’re just waiting to see. He’ll certainly do a bit but just how much we’re not quite sure yet.”
Longmire suggested it would be a combined call on all three, with the club’s coaches and medical staff to sit down with each player on Thursday.
McVeigh, who has featured in 286 games for the Swans, won’t be empowered to make his own decision.
But Longmire added the 31-year-old would know his body a lot better than Mills and Aliir.
“Jarrad is an experienced player and understands what he can and can’t play with, but we all make the call together,” Longmire said.
“We sit down and work out what he’s able to do and how comfortable he feels and make the decision together.
“We made the decision last week not to push Jarrad and I’m pretty confident it was the right call.”
Selecting a grand-final side will always throw up some of the toughest conundrums of any coaching career.
Longmire knows it well, having ruled out a heartbroken and hamstrung Ben McGlynn in 2012.
The 2012 premiership coach noted none of the 44 players taking part in the grand final would be fully fit, saying he and the Swans’ other coaches would guide Aliir and Mills through one of the toughest weeks of their careers.
“You need to be able to assess, work out yourself with the help and guidance of coaches who have some experience in it and also medical staff,” Longmire said.
“Very rarely are you 100 per cent … but you know once the ball is bounced, adrenaline takes over and you get through.”
Longmire was full of praise for the Bulldogs’ epic win over Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.
“Their pressure around the ball is as good as I’ve seen,” he said.
“They’re not a team that goes away, they keep persisting.”
