Lance Franklin is set to make his long-awaited return from injury against the Adelaide Crows this Saturday for the Sydney Swans, John Longmire has confirmed.
Buddy has been out of action for over a year, last appearing for the Swans in their round 23 clash against St. Kilda in 2019.
Coincidentally, that was also his 300th AFL match where he kicked four goals.
But since then a variety of injuries have rendered the Swans' superstar forward to the sidelines.
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A knee injury leading into Christmas 2019 saw the superstar require minor surgery.
He had some calf soreness in early January 2020 before picking up a hamstring injury while the competition was on hold due to COVID-19.
The Swans then made the decision to let Franklin sit out the entire 2020 season in the hopes he would return fresh this year.
He suffered some calf soreness leading into the 2021 season that saw him miss the Swans' round one victory against the Brisbane Lions.
However, Franklin featured in a Swans scratch match on Sunday, getting through a half unscathed.
Swans coach Longmire said Franklin did enough in the half of footy he played to prove his fitness for the Crows.
"He pulled up fine so we expect him to play this week.
"He’s done a lot of work and he’s been training for quite a while so it will be good to get him back in the team.
"He's got himself into good nick a few times but hasn't quite got there. It's just great to have him back in available to go. He'll train all of this week and be right to go on Saturday."
Longmire added of Franklin's return: "He loves getting out there to compete and when it's taken away from you like it's been with Lance, he's clearly been frustrated.
"He's directed that level of frustration into his rehab program and has been working really diligently... you've got to direct that energy somewhere and he's directed it in the right way to give himself every chance."
Having not played a minute of senior football in close to 18 months, Longmire says ongoing injury management will be required with Franklin to avoid more setbacks.
Longmire said there was a framework in place to rest Franklin in the event that he won't be able to get through a full recovery and strength routine in the lead-up to games this season.
"We're confident that he's done a fair bit of work but there's nothing like playing," Longmire said.
"We'll work through that. What we know is he definitely won't play every week.
"We've got to make sure we don't get into the habit of just playing him every week, he recovers, doesn't train and doesn't do his strength work he needs to do, which is really important and then plays again on the weekend.
"We've just got to make sure that we keep that work into him during the week in the gym, the physio work and training to be able to get him through the season."
With Franklin's long-awaited return confirmed, Saturday's game that will take on new meaning as the Swans prepare to play their first game at the SCG since last year's round eight fixture against Hawthorn, before the AFL moved into hubs.
Franklin is set to take his place back in the Swans' forward line-up alongside draftees Logan McDonald and Errol Gulden who both kicked three goals in their AFL debuts against the Lions on Saturday.
The young duo, along with top 10 pick and academy product Braeden Campbell, seized their place in the team with stand-out performances in the dominant win over the Lions.
Longmire said the breakout efforts from his draftees were the result of impressive work through the pre-season.
"We picked them to help us win first and foremost," he said.
"It's great to be able to introduce more young players... but first and foremost you need to pick a team that gives you the chance to go out there and win.
"The work rate, everything they did, it's like our team, the goals and reards come off the back of strong work rate and that's what happened with those lads.
"We're really confident in a number of our players, particularly those guys this year and over the pre-season. It's one thing seeing them out on the training track, it's another thing going up to Brisbane and seeing them against quality opposition.
"It's another challenge this week, the week-to-week challenges in the AFL are significant, it's another thing they need to learn and keep developing that as well."