Sydney superstar Lance Franklin will miss a fourth-straight game after being ruled out of Saturday night's clash with Fremantle at the SCG.

Franklin's bruised heel continues to be a worry for the Swans, with the key forward still unable to participate in training drills with his teammates without feeling pain.

Coach John Longmire said the decision to keep the 31-year-old on the sidelines for the Dockers' visit to Sydney wasn't a hard one.

"We probably suspected it after we gave him a go last week and he couldn't get up," he said on Monday.

"We can't give a definitive answer (on when he'll return).

"He can run on the treadmill and he did some training last week out on the ground, but that’s when it got a bit sore and we pulled the pin.

"We didn't want to make it worse."

Longmire said his star goalkicker is struggling with the frustration of missing games but will continue to work hard on his rehabilitation until he's pain free.

"Like every senior player, particularly the ones that have played a lot of footy and enjoy the big contests, he's not a good watcher," he said.

"But that’s part of it and he'll be fine."

The Swans received some better news with gun midfielder Dan Hannebery (groin) a chance to face the Dockers, after stepping up his training intensity over the past few days.

Like Franklin, Hannebery has missed the past three games.

"We'll see how he goes at training this week," Longmire said.

"He's been running and kicking fine, we'll just see how the week progresses."