Big news today from the Adelaide Crows with star midfielder Rory Sloane admitted to hospital with appendicitis.
Sloane, 27, reported abdominal pain on Tuesday morning and and it was determined that surgery was needed to remove his appendix.
Adelaide is hopeful that he'll be available for the qualifying final next Thursday evening.
While there is precedent for players returning from surgery within a week, given his stitches and body will not have healed in time, he's at risk of further injuring himself if he plays.
Meanwhile, Sydney ruck duo Callum Sinclair and Kurt Tippett are expected to be available for selection for next Saturday afternoon's twilight elimination final.
Both players rolled their ankles in the first half, with Sinclair playing out the match and Tippett sitting out the final quarter.
"They're both walking around pretty well today," Longmire said.
Naismith is yet to feature for the Swans at any level since hurting his hip a month ago, and will have his chance to push for senior selection this weekend in the Swans' NEAFL semi-final.
"He'll play. How much of the game we're not quite sure," Longmire told reporters on Monday.
"He's missed a bit of footy and he needs to play.
"He wasn't quite right (to be in the mix to face Carlton) ... but he trained well on Saturday."
Injured duo Dan Hannebery and Tom Papley are almost certain to be available for selection ahead of the elimination final, having sat out the side's impressive win against Carlton in round 23.
Hannebery had been managing a hip injury for sometime before the club rested him, while Papley injured his knee late in the game against Adelaide.
Head of Football Tom Harley was positive that both players would be available come Thursday night next week.
"Tom (Papley) is tracking well, he landed awkwardly before half-time (in Adelaide)...and just didn't quite get up in time for the game against Carlton," Harley said.
"So he had the week off and we've clearly got this week off and, a bit like the other boys in this category, we'll make sure he does all the required rehab and expect him to be available.
"Dan's (Hannebery) prognosis was really good, he's had a grumbling hip for a couple of weeks and after the really bruising encounter against the Crows (it) didn't recover fully.
"We took the cautious action not to play him against Carlton ... But we will use these two weeks now, we'll expect him to ramp up his training in the back end of this week and have a full week leading into the first final."
Essendon are staring down the barrel of a first-up elimination final against the inform Swans, and they have to do it without three of their most important players.
Hurley and Fantasia will be tested next week before selection deadline, with both possible inclusions for the Bombers, while forward Cale Hooker remains in strong doubt for the final with bone bruising.
Hooker was a late withdrawal against the Dockers, and the Bombers believed Cale - who's kicked 41 goals for the season - initially had a calf complaint, but upon further investigation found that it was in fact bone bruising.
"We didn't really get the chance to look at [the injury] until well after the game and we've checked it out again today," Bombers high performance manager Justin Crow said on the club's website.
"He's got some bone bruising on the outside of his leg. That's still pretty sore, we'll just wait to see how that comes up over the next week or two.
"These [injuries] are unpredictable. We're hopeful and optimistic, but we'll just need to see how it progresses."
| Callum Sinclair | Ankle | Test |
| Kurt Tippett | Ankle | Test |
| Dan Hannebery | Hip | Test |
| Tom Papley | Knee | Test |
| Robbie Fox | Ankle | Test |
| Darcy Cameron | Shoulder | Season |
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