The Sydney Swans will use Thursday’s main training session to test the fitness of a number of key players ahead of the Round 1 trip to Perth.
Dan Hannebery, Jarrad McVeigh and Callum Sinclair are all in line to return from injury for the match against West Coast on Sunday as they aim to recover from injury concerns.
Head of Football Tom Harley said he expects the trio to all push their case to play in the season opener.
“We will test Dan later in the week but he is certainly pushing very close to availability for selection, so that is pleasing,” Harley told the HCF Injury Update.
“Jarrad has had a really good pre-season and had a minor calf strain where we took a conservative approach but we are expecting him to be available.
“We are expecting Callum to also be available. He trained strongly today and will train on Thursday, so we expect him to play.”
Aliir Aliir, who also injured his ankle during the JLT series, is slightly behind the schedule of Sinclair but remains a chance to pull on the boots on Sunday if he can prove his fitness.
“We will test him on Thursday to see what his weekend looks like,” Harley said.
“With regards to where he (Aliir) plays, I guess one of the great attributes he has got is his flexibility, and the ruck role is clearly changing not having Tippett and Naismith.
“Primarily though, we see him as a key defender."
Injury List
Aliir Aliir (ankle) test
Jordan Dawson (quad) 2-3 weeks
Dan Hannebery (calf) test
Alex Johnson (groin) 2-3 weeks
Jarrad McVeigh (calf) test
Sam Naismith (knee) season
Toby Pink (ankle) 6-8 weeks
Callum Sinclair (ankle) test
