Sydney coach John Longmire has confirmed ruckman Tom Hickey will miss the next six weeks after suffering a medial ligament strain in Thursday's loss to the Bulldogs.
Hickey was subbed out of the match after suffering a knee complaint in the third term of the 11-point loss, with the journeyman now set to miss at least a month with the setback.
"At this stage we expect it to be about six weeks. He'll be out obviously for an extended period of time," Longmire said on Monday.
The journeyman's absence will open the door for recruit Peter Ladhams to make his first appearance in the red and white, with Longmire set to unleash the 32-gamer for his side's clash with North Melbourne in Round 4.
Ladhams was traded to the Swans from Port Adelaide at the cessation of last season, with Saturday's clash against the Roos set to give Sydney fans a first look at the 24-year-old.
"He'll come in this week," Longmire said of Ladhams.
"We wanted to get some footy into him, which we did at the back-end of the pre-season series before the first few weeks.
"He's been able to do that. So he'll come in and play his first game for the club this week.
"He's got the capacity to be able to add to that midfield group in regards to not only the ruck contest, which is really important for us, but also the ability to be able to get the ball around the ground, his follow up and just play an important role for us.
"He's been working on those things over the last few weeks, while coming back from a couple of little niggles that he had over the pre-season. So that's what we're hoping he brings to the team."
Longmire noted lively forward Tom Papely remains sidelined with a hamstring injury and won't face North Melbourne, while youngster Justin McInerney will need to prove his fitness for the encounter.
McInerney has missed the past two weeks with a knee injury, with Longmire hopeful the 21-year-old will be available for selection for this weekend.
"He had a run today, felt fine," he said.
"Hopefully [he'll] be able to train tomorrow and Thursday and pull up well and if that's the case, we expect him to come back in. He's an important player for us.
"If he gets through training this week feeling good we'd like to get back in the team.
"'Paps' won't play this week. We're pleased with how he's coming along. It was a significant injury.
"He's coming along well, we're upping his training. He's been doing some training over the last few weeks, but at a lower level.
"We're hoping to up the intensity a bit this week and see what he's like for next week."
The Swans will monitor the fitness of veteran Lance Franklin and Paddy McCartin this week, with Franklin initially suspected to be rested for the Round 3 defeat as he manages his workload.
McCartin has been a bright spark for the Swans' backline this season, playing a key role on the last line alongside brother Tom after three years out of the top flight.
Young forward Logan McDonald will be in contention for a return to AFL level after being dropped for the Bulldogs match, bouncing back with a four-goal haul in the VFL.
The Swans will host North Melbourne at the SCG at 2:40pm on Saturday.
