However, Swans coaching co-ordinator John Longmire told afl.com.au the injury was not expected have a great impact on the 17-year-old’s burgeoning AFL career.
Heath, who was selected at No.61 by the Swans at last year’s NAB AFL National Draft, was set to spend 2009 in Victoria to complete Year 12, regardless of his injury.
Longmire said Heath had impressed the coaching panel in the time he spent in Sydney during the summer.
“He did a pre-season up here with us and really showed his poise under pressure and his kicking was a real highlight,” he said.
“We’re hopeful that when he gets through his schooling that he’ll be able to have another good pre-season.”
Heath played TAC Cup with the Gippsland Power last year and represented Vic Country at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, playing primarily off half-back.
Meanwhile, tall forward Henry Playfair faces an uncertain start to 2009 as he battles to recover from a nagging hamstring complaint.
Playfair is listed as ‘indefinite’ on the latest Swans injury update, but Longmire was hopeful the former Geelong forward was on the road to recovery.
“He just had a nervy hamstring that he couldn’t really get rid of. It was restricting him in what he was able to do, so we’ve tried a number of different things with our medical boys, trying to get him right,” he said.
“We’re hoping that we’ve started to turn the corner, but he’s still indefinite as far as his return goes.”
And Longmire also expressed sympathy for young Irish rookie Kyle Coney, who decided not to return to Australia after spending his Christmas break in Ireland.
The teenager was earmarked as a potential AFL player after starring for County Tyrone in Gaelic football last year.
He signed a two-year international rookie contract and spent six weeks training with the Swans before Christmas, before deciding against pursuing an AFL career.
“It’s a tough thing, to make that call to head to the other side of the world as a young kid. I think we can sometimes lose sight of how hard it is,” Longmire said.
Dream Team watch – Henry Playfair is rated a $226,700 forward in Toyota AFL Dream Team 2009.
