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Sydney Swans star Buddy Franklin suffers fresh setback

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·2-min read
Lance Frankling (pictured middle) during a Sydney Swans training.
Lance Frankling (pictured middle) has suffered another injury setback, according to Sydney Swans' coach. (Getty Images)

Sydney Swans superstar Lance Franklin was on the road to recovery after a horror 2020 season, but has faced another injury setback.

Franklin missed the 2020 season after a hamstring and groin injury forced him to watch on from the sidelines.

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The 34-year-old was reportedly on the road to recovery ahead of the new season, but Swans coach John Longmire confirmed he has faced a minor setback.

"His calf tightened up a little bit on Friday, about halfway through the session," Longmire told SEN radio.

"(It) is to be expected that little bumps will pop up every now and then.

"That was only Friday and has probably put him back about a week, and we'll get him going next week."

Despite working on strengthening his core muscles, after a serious groin injury, the setback comes as a hit.

But Longmire didn’t want to speculate when Franklin would be ready to return to action.

"That's what he's been doing all his work on and he's been going really well," Longmire said.

"He's gone right through the off-season (and) right throughout Christmas and done a power of work and got himself really strong right through that area of his body.

"That's the main thing, as long as we continue to go forward in that area."

Fears over Franklin’s future

Franklin has played only once since June 2019.

But the star forward has two years left on his whopping nine-year contract, estimated to be worth $10 million.

But Longmire said he wasn’t concerned about anything to far into the future and was more concerned about getting him back on the paddock.

"I don't look to that, I just look to what he's doing on a weekly basis," Longmire said.

Lance Franklin during a Sydney Swans AFL training session at Lakeside Oval on December 07, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.
Lance Franklin during a Sydney Swans AFL training session at Lakeside Oval on December 07, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

"That's the main thing that we can control.

"We don't sit back and say, 'Well, what's the longer term future look like for him?'

"We try and make sure that day by day he's tracking the right way, which he has been.

"He's been doing a power of work and coming along really well."

with AAP

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