Slow progress on an ankle injury will keep Kurt Tippett sidelined for at least another week, with the Sydney Swans hoping the ruckman and key forward will be available for next week's double-header with Gold Coast.
But Head of Football Tom Harley admits that will be best case scenario.
Tippett's sore spot, which was initially injured against the Western Bulldogs in Round 2, was aggravated in the NEAFL Swans' clash with Aspley two weeks ago and unfortunately hasn't fully recovered.
The painstaking progress has forced the medicos' hand in pulling back the 30-year-old's rehab to give the injury time to fully heal then rebuild the muscle's strength around the ligament.
It's a frustrating setback for Tippett who was well on the way to earning a senior recall before his latest concern.
He'd impressed in the wins against GWS and Aspley before puling up sore, collecting 20+ disposals and 28+ hit outs in each game, responding in the best way possible to his Round 12 omission.
"He's been getting treatment around the clock," Harley said in this week's HCF Injury Update.
"It's a bit like Kieren Jack earlier in the year with his hip when (he) needed to take some time off to recover to then get the strength right, so (Kurt's) in the strength-and-starting-to-run phase in the back end of this week.
"He won't play this weekend, any grade, then we'll reassess again on Monday as he builds up his training and running. We've got his down for 1-2 weeks which is disappointing for Kurt, we'd love to see him out there as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, utility Harry Cunningham is on track for a Round 16 return.
In rehab recovering from a tear of the Lisfranc ligament in his ankle, suffered in Round 7 against St Kilda, Cunningham is back running and isn't too far away from rejoining the main training group.
"It's up to six weeks now, our initial prognosis was four-to-eight, so he's tracking well in the sense he's running fast in a straight line,"
"He's still got a bit of awareness on changing direction, so we're mindful and respectful of that."
As reported earlier in the day, Jarrad McVeigh and Aliir Aliir will be available for the weekend's AFL and NEAFL matches.
McVeigh got through last weekend's NEAFL match unscathed and his put himself in the mix for an AFL recall while Aliir, the runner in the same game, will also be looked at for the seniors but is more likely to come back through the NEAFL for the Swans' Round 14 clash with Canberra on Saturday.
