SUPERSTAR forward Lance Franklin and co-captain Dane Rampe are both a strong chance to strengthen a Sydney side that will face undefeated ladder leader Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday night.
Franklin missed the past two games with bone bruising on his right knee sustained in a clash of legs with Connor Idun in the two-point loss to Greater Western Sydney.
The 34-year-old trained last week and again on Monday, pulling up "really well" after both sessions, so only needs to do the same this week to come back into the team that beat Geelong in a thriller at the SCG.
"His knee is in really good shape. The bone bruising has turned around pretty quickly, so once the swelling went out of it he's been feeling really good," John Longmire said.
"He did a really solid session on Friday, which was ahead of schedule, pulled up well on the weekend and then trained really hard again today, did a really solid session.
Franklin has played three games this season, kicking 11 goals, after missing all of 2020 with a series of soft-tissue injuries.
He was seen walking around the club after training on Monday without any signs of discomfort or strapping on his right knee.
"He certainly has a lot of work behind him. He was also able to continue his weights and strengthening work even when he wasn't able to run with the knee," Longmire said.
"It was a lot shorter period that he wasn't able to run than what we predicted, so that was a good sign. So he was able to get in there and go again and get the miles in his legs, which is what we've always required from him to make sure he gets that level of training before we play him."
The Swans' star defender Rampe is also nearing a return, after having an operation on a broken finger after the round four win over Essendon.
The 30-year-old sustained the injury in training in the lead-up to Sydney's upset win over Richmond in round three.
"He's a real chance, he's done a fair bit of training with us." Longmire said.
"He wasn't marking the ball early on, but he was running around last week and catching the ball in training sessions. He trained really hard again on Saturday, so he's a big chance to come back in.
"He was able to play a couple of games before he got it operated on as well. So he's quite capable of being able to put things to one side and get on with the job at hand."
If Rampe does return it will be in the place of Lewis Melican who injured his hamstring and was subbed out of the game late in the win over Geelong.
"He'll be out a couple of weeks, unfortunately because we were really pleased with how he went on the weekend," Longmire said.
Tom Hickey is another Swan who has been able to recover quickly from injury, when the ruckman missed only one match with a PCL injury instead of the expected 6-8 weeks.
The in-form 30-year-old recruit was one of the Swans' best in the stunning comeback victory over the Cats, picking up 20 touches and having the most contested possessions in the game with 16.
"What 'Hick' was able to do on the weekend was incredible," Longmire said.
"He's got great courage, but his ability to put it to the back of his mind and then get on with the job at hand was a real strength.
"It goes up a level again this week against one of the best ruckman of his generation in Max Gawn, so he'll get tested again this week."
