SYDNEY Swans defender Ted Richards has trained strongly this week and says the ankle he injured just seven days ago will not hinder him against Hawthorn on Saturday.

Richards rolled his left ankle in the first quarter against Collingwood on Friday night in the preliminary final win that put the Swans through to their third Grand Final since 2005.

He got through training on Thursday at the SCG, and a further half-hour light session on the MCG on Friday morning after the Swans touched down in Melbourne the night before.

He admitted the injury had given him a good scare last week.

"It's fine. The ankle is all good. It did [give me a scare], because it's just so important, this game, but it's all in the past," Richards said before Friday's Grand Final parade.

"It was a really light session this morning, just a kick around, but it was good to get some familiarity with the MCG. The conditions were pretty similar to this right now.

"It was really exciting just to be out there, even though the stadium was empty.

"It gave us a little insight into what's waiting for us tomorrow."

Richards has had a few scares in his football career, with the last one more serious and ending his 2009 season in round 16.

He punctured a lung and broke a rib when then-Carlton forward Brendan Fevola ploughed into the back of him in a marking contest in the dying stages of the clash at Etihad Stadium.

Richards went straight to hospital after he had coughed up blood, and he remained there for a few days to be treated with a chest drain.

He also required ground transport to get back to Sydney, as the nature of the lung injury made it impossible for him to fly.

Now 29, Richards said he looked upon all injuries as simply something that happened.

"It's just a part of footy, injuries," he said.

"I don't think about it. I dealt with that when it happened, things healed and I moved on pretty quick."

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs