Sydney Swans forward Lance Franklin won’t return to play this season, after Sydney’s medical team made a call on his rehabilitation.

Franklin suffered a hamstring injury in May and has been slowly building up his training with the intention of returning to the field this season.

However, Franklin has developed some groin soreness as he increased his training program, and with only four weeks of the season remaining, he hasn’t shown the level of improvement the medical team had expected.

Sydney Swans GM of Football Charlie Gardiner said it now looks like the star forward won’t return to play before the season is through.

“Lance has been working hard on a return to play and, until this week, we remained hopeful that would happen before the end of the season,” Gardiner said.

“However, given the soreness he has experienced in his groin, which suggests he still has some instability there, we believe the best course of action is for Lance to focus on building his core strength, rather than pushing himself to play again this year.

“Lance will remain with the team and continue his rehabilitation and training.

“He’s also keen to assist in a mentoring and coaching capacity as he is fully invested in our young group.

“We look forward to seeing him back to full strength next season.”