Sydney ruckman Shane Mumford has been cleared of structural damage to his left knee but will still miss Saturday night’s AFL clash on the Gold Coast.
The in-form star was subbed out at halftime of the Swans 29-point win over St Kilda on Sunday at the SCG, but scans confirmed on Monday that there was no serious ligament damage.
Mumford has suffered bone bruising on the knee and appears likely to return for Sydney’s following round 19 match against Carlton.
The 26-year-old missed six weeks earlier in the year with a back problem and had surgery on his right knee during the lead-in to the 2011 season.
The Swans are flying high on top of the AFL ladder and coach John Longmire is relieved he won’t have to do without the key big man for another extended period leading into the finals.
“Shane is feeling pretty good today and is walking around the club quite freely, but we will continue to monitor his progress throughout the week,” Longmire said.
“Bone bruising is a really tricky injury to assess and recovery time varies from case to case.
“At this stage, Shane is unlikely to face the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night.”
Sydney received a fright against St Kilda on Sunday after getting off to a slow start in the first half, but defender Marty Mattner said the way they rallied at the death was proof of how far they’ve come.
Mattner admits the need to work on goal-kicking inaccuracy but said belief had been getting the Swans over the line in tight finishes.
“Last year we probably lost a couple of those close games but this year we are able to win them,” said Mattner at the team’s recovery on Monday.
“Internally we had a great belief we were going to go well this year and some of those games we’ve won this year has added more belief to the team.
“Even though St Kilda got a really good start the boys realised we were still in the game.”
Mattner says the Swans are taking pride in their No.1 standing on the AFL ladder and won’t be giving it up without a fight.
“Yeah definitely, you always want to finish the season on top to get that double chance home final and those sort of things,” he said.
“It’s hard to win from outside the top four that’s been shown from the last few years.
“We’ve got to improve every week.”
