SYDNEY co-captain Callum Mills will have a severely disrupted summer after undergoing surgery on a shoulder injury suffered at a post-season event, leaving the club "extremely disappointed".  

The club said Mills, 26, is recovering well from the operation to repair his shoulder but the timeline for his recovery "is still to be determined". 

Swans football manager Charlie Gardiner said the injury was upsetting for Mills and the club. 

“Losing players to injury in the off-season is always disappointing,” Gardiner said.
 
“Callum is our captain and an important member of the squad. We are extremely disappointed this injury has occurred.
 
“Callum is equally disappointed, as you can imagine, but he is recovering well and will get to work on his rehabilitation immediately.”

It isn't the first time an off-field mishap has affected Mills' on-field impact. He missed most of the 2018 season after breaking his foot while walking to a cafe at the SCG with teammates while throwing an American football. 

He told AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey last month that it was "not a fond moment". 

"I tripped and broke my foot on a gutter and it was pretty disappointing, I was pretty shattered. I was out for the rest of the year but sometimes those things happen in life," he said. 

"You feel like you let your teammates down but it is what it is and I just have to go through rehab. I'd never experienced rehab so I had a crack and got back. The American footy didn't come to the café again, that's for sure."

Mills has played 155 games for the Swans since being drafted at the end of 2015, and has been a co-captain of the club since 2022 - the same year he won his first Bob Skilton Medal as club champion.