Sydney Swans forward Sam Reid and defender Nick Smith will both face fitness tests ahead of this weekend’s Qualifying Final against the Adelaide Crows.
Reid was ruled out of last Saturday’s clash in Geelong with a gluteal strain, while Smith was a late withdrawal from the match with a tight hamstring.
Swans physiotherapist Matt Cameron said the pair participated in team training Tuesday afternoon and were both expected to recover in time for the Swans final this weekend.
“(Reid) is going well and he trained with the team today,” Cameron told SwansTV.
“He strained a deep muscle in his glute two games ago and he just wasn’t quite 100 per cent by the end of last week, but he’s trained well today and we expect him to play.”
Cameron was also positive about Smith making his return this week.
“(Smith) had a bit of hamstring soreness during the week last week and after the game,” he said.
“It just wasn’t quite right and we didn’t think we could risk making an injury worse.
“He’s improved since then and he’s trained as well, so we’re expecting him to play.”
Swans utility Andrejs Everitt will miss a week of football after an Achilles injury prevented him from finishing the Swans reserves finals’ clash with Queanbeyan.
Cameron said Everitt would be rested this week, but should be fit to return in time for the NEAFL Eastern Conference Grand Final in a fortnight.
“(Everitt’s) Achilles got sore in the second half of the reserves game, and he wasn’t able to finish the game, so that’s not often a good sign,” he said.
“Unfortunately we’ll need to unload him and not run him this week and hopefully have him ready for next week.”
In other injury news, Cameron said Swans ruckman Mark Seaby faces another week on the sidelines with a calf injury.
“We’re waiting until some greater healing has occurred, so whilst (Seaby) is running he is not training with the team at the moment,” he said.
“He’s still not ready for the high-intensity work, but we’re hoping to have a favourable scan next week and have him re-join training then.”
