The Swans have been dealt a significant blow ahead of their Round 11 clash against Geelong at GMHBA stadium, with Sydney Swans co-captain Josh Kennedy ruled out for two weeks with a medial ligament strain in his left knee.
Kennedy damaged his medial ligament during the third quarter of Sydney's seven-point loss to Collingwood at the SCG on Saturday night, and spent the remainder of the match on the bench after failing a fitness test.
The veteran had been influential for the Swans with 22 possessions, five clearances and four tackles, until he left the field.
Swans senior coach John Longmire confirmed today that Kennedy will miss at least two weeks.
“Josh will be out until after the bye, so he’ll be out for another couple of weeks," Longmire said.
“He’s obviously out this week, we expect him to be out next week as well and he’ll then probably come back after the bye.
“He’s a quality player, we take on Geelong in Geelong without him this week and what a wonderful challenge for our team.
“We’d rather him playing, the reality is he’s not, we can’t do much about it, we’ll get on with it and another player comes in.”
The news is much better for midfielder George Hewett, who suffered concussion midway through the third quarter.
“George has pulled up well, which is a good sign,” Longmire said.
Swans recruit Daniel Menzel played his second game in the NEAFL on Sunday, booting 5 goals for the match.
With forward Sam Reid firing, and superstar Lance Franklin kicking two goals in his return, it will be a tight squeeze to fit Menzel into the lineup.
While Menzel was quiet in the first half, Longmire was happy with his contribution after half-time, and will decide later in the week if he will play his first game for the Swans.
“He had a quiet first half in the NEAFL on the weekend and then his second half was good,” Longmire said.
“We’ll sit down this week, work out what the mix of our team looks like, work out how his form over the four quarters looked and make a decision from there.
“He’s not in the team just yet; we’ll have to sit down and have a look at what the mix of the side looks like.”
Heath Grundy announced his retirement from AFL last Wednesday, effective immediately, opening up a second selection for the Swans at the AFL mid-season draft.
Swans Head of Football last week announced that Jarrad McVeigh could be in the mix for selection this week.
Player | Injury | Time |
Jarrad McVeigh | Quad | Test |
Kieren Jack | Hip | Test |
Zak Jones | Hamstring | 2-3 Weeks |
Josh Kennedy | Knee | 2-3 Weeks |
Harry Cunningham | Adductor | 6-8 Weeks |
Sam Naismith | Knee | Indefinite |
Nick Smith | Hamstring | Indefinite (LTI) |
Darcy Cameron | Calf | Indefinite |
Durak Tucker | Knee | Indefinite |
Jack Maibaum | Knee | Season |
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