Sydney will be without co-captain Adam Goodes for around six weeks after scans revealed the extent of the quadriceps muscle injury he suffered during his team’s AFL loss to Adelaide on Saturday night.
The dual Brownlow medallist reluctantly came off the SCG six minutes into the final quarter and the club was initially optimistic it was only a minor injury.
But Swans coach John Longmire said on Monday the injury would sideline his star player for an extended period.
“He’s got a high quad tear so unfortunately he’s probably out for about six weeks,” Longmire said.
“He’s disappointed he’s not playing obviously.
“He hasn’t missed too many games over a 300-game career but he’s a tremendously positive person Adam and he’s fantastic with his rehab.
“It’s probably a hard injury to predict, it’s something that may be longer or may be shorter.
“I can’t sit here today and say it will be x number of weeks for sure, because we just don’t know.”
Sydney have the bye in round 12 and it’s expected Goodes won’t return until their round 13 fixture on June 22 against Geelong at the SCG.
The Swans are likely to take a conservative approach with their most influential player, but Longmire was hopeful he could prove the club’s medical team wrong.
“He’s got amazing powers of recuperation,” Longmire said.
“I’m sure he’s going to do everything he possibly can to get back as quick as he can.
“But even if he’s feeling good it’s not something that we’ll tend to push too hard.
“Because of where it is – he’s such a powerful athlete – we’ll be making sure that he’s absolutely right before we push him too hard.
“We know how important Adam Goodes is for us, so we’re not going to put him at risk any more that we need to.”
Ruckman Shane Mumford will also miss the Swans’ round seven clash with Richmond at the MCG.
“Mumford and Goodes are really important players for us,” Longmire said.
“But we’ve got to make sure we cover those players with the depth that we’ve got and the players in the team.”