A silky performance by the Swans on Saturday afternoon has been somewhat soured by the news that Harry Cunningham has suffered an ankle injury and will miss at least 6 weeks.
Longmire fronted the press today and confirmed the bad news, that the midfielder had suffered a partial ligament tear in his ankle.
It's terrible timing for the 23-year-old midfielder, who was finally hitting his straps and performing well as a half-forward flanker.
The Swans have options ready to come straight into the senior team, with Florent the logical choice and Jordan Dawson impressing in recent weeks.
Coach John Longmire said the 23-year-old will be in a moon boot in the short term, but won't need an operation to fix the problem, with the injury just another part of footy that is out of his control.
"It's really unfortunate for him. He's been in very good form and really important for us, so it's a bit of a setback," he said.
"Fortunately he's avoided surgery, which is a good thing because that would mean the season.
"We got a couple of players back (last week) and it's a bit like swings and roundabouts at times, but you've got to be able to deal with that.
"We've been pleased with the players that have come into the team and we've got players in good form in the reserves as well."
Hawthorn will no doubt be another challenge this week, holding an impressive record in Sydney, with the Swans winning just 1 of their last 5 against the Hawks since 2012, with the solitary win Franklin's first game against his old team.
Longmire's not looking any further ahead than this week, focusing on the challenge of the perennial foe, who'll be smarting another another close loss on the weekend.
Another win against the old foe will be just the tonic the Swans need to ramp up their season. They're not as strong as they once were, but on any given day any team can win, and Longmire tends to agree.
Stay focused on the job at hand and see this one through to the bye. Going into the break at 4-6 is a whole lot better than 3-7, or where we were a month ago.
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