The Sydney Swans Match Committee will have options this week with several players pushing their case to return from injury.
Aliir Aliir’s been cleared of any major structural damage to the knee he injured in the NEAFL last weekend and is set to train with the main group on Wednesday.
Swans Head of Football Tom Harley said it’s a good outcome for the dashing defender.
“Aliir had a really strong game – he’s had a really strong couple of weeks both on the track and in the NEAFL,” Harley said in this week’s HCF Injury Update.
“He suffered a knee injury late in the game up in Queensland.
“Scans have confirmed it’s only minor so we’re really hopeful that he will train tomorrow and be available for selection.
“Aliir’s starting to come into good form so it’s important we get him up and going.”
Former skipper Jarrad McVeigh is also available for selection, pending Wednesday’s training session, after overcoming a hamstring injury.
“Jarrad’s done a fair chunk of training now and had a good session down in Melbourne with Alex Johnson on Saturday morning,” Harley said.
“We expect him to train fully tomorrow with our main training session and put his hand up for selection.”
Speedster Harry Cunningham is also tracking along nicely but is still at least another week away as he recovers from the foot injury he suffered in Round 9 against St Kilda.
However, as reported on Monday, Swans forward Kurt Tippett has been ruled out this week in a bid to overcome a persistent ankle injury.
Harley said it’s a disappointing setback for Tippett.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of talk about his form but this is injury related now – he’s been carrying a bit of an ankle injury since the Round 2 game against the Bulldogs,” Harley said.
“It’s just been grumbling away through games and unfortunately it recovered poorly from the game in Aspley on the weekend, so he won’t play this week and we’ll make sure we give him the best chance to recover fully.
“Hopefully he’ll be available next week.”
Aliir cleared, Macca in the mix
Key defender escapes serious knee injury while veteran in the frame to face Essendon pending a final fitness test.