The Swans have been dealt a cruel pre-season blow with star forward Buddy Franklin undergoing knee surgery.
The 32-year old had an arthroscope this week after experiencing discomfort over the pre-season and is in doubt to play round one.
Franklin missed a large chunk of last season with a hamstring issue, booting 27 goals from his 10 games.
Sydney football boss Charlie Gardiner said the club may manage Franklin throughout the 2020 season.
“We weighed it up and felt that it was best for Lance to have a clean up now, so he underwent an arthroscope on Monday,” Gardiner told sydneyswans.com.au.
“We may have been able to manage the knee through the year, but we’re hopeful that this will mean Lance can have an uninterrupted season. He has had a similar clean up on his right knee in the past, so there are no long-term concerns.
“We’re expecting Lance to resume full training in around 10 weeks, which means he remains a chance to play in round one, but we clearly can’t make that call until closer to the date.”
