Swans forward Gary Rohan returned to Sydney on Sunday cleared of serious injury following his sickening crash to the Melbourne Cricket Ground turf in Saturday's shock loss to Carlton.
Rohan was stretchered unmoving from the field in the third quarter after colliding with Blues defender Sam Rowe and spent a precautionary night in hospital after scans revealed he had suffered a concussion, but no spinal damage.
More AFL Real Footy Videos
AFL plays of round 5
Young Lions impress to keep the Dogs honest, flying Kanga takes a screamer, Cat chases down Jack Steven's mullet, Cyril rolls out the genius playbook and Riewoldt has a night out in the wet to sink the Dees.
He was discharged on Sunday morning and the Swans will monitor him closely this week before making a decision on whether he'll play in Sunday's crunch clash against the Brisbane Lions at the SCG.
"We'll have to go through all the tests again when he's back in Sydney. Until we've got all that information we can't really make a call on his prognosis," Swans head of football Tom Harley said.
"The pleasing news it appears at this stage, and you never want to say it's just a concussion, but he's been cleared of other potential injuries."
And there could be further injury trouble for the club after Kurt Tippett was a late withdrawal from the Blues clash with a hip injury suffered at training on Thursday.
Tippett will also be monitored this week before a decision is made on his availability for the Lions.
![Gary Rohan of the Swans lies injured at the MCG after a collision with Blues defender Sam Rowe.](/web/20170430110936im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/v/g/o/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvvnfi.png/1493545759671.jpg)
"It was the last drill on the training session on Thursday; he just nicked his hip flexor," Harley said. "[He] had the scan straight away. He was improving on the Friday but not enough to play.
"We'll assess again now that we're back in town. He's no certainty to play next week but [we are] certainly hopeful that he's available."
Swans coach John Longmire labelled Saturday's 19-point loss to Carlton as "unacceptable" and said his side was in danger of losing its reputation as one of the AFL's most consistent performers.
He also questioned his team's competitive spirit on an afternoon when fellow battlers North Melbourne broke their duck for the season, meaning the Swans are dead last in the competition as the only winless team.
The loss to Carlton was a seventh straight dating back to last year's grand final defeat to the Western Bulldogs – unfamiliar territory for a club that has finished in the top eight a staggering 18 times in the past 21 seasons.
"We don't think it's the start of a downward spiral by any stretch," Harley said. "Clearly when you're zip six you're not doing a lot right on the field compared to our normal standards.
"We've clearly had some players with interrupted pre-seasons and some injuries that have been unpreventable, particularly to some of our better players.
"You're always going to get injuries but I think when you're in this sort of situation, it's important that you deal in the facts that you've got.
"You certainly don't want to walk on the side of excuses. However, you've got to delve into what some of the mitigating factors might be and I guess look at those as to whether they're in your control or not in your control.
"We're clearly doing that and we always do that. That's the game, it's a hard game, it's a competitive game and we've clearly been on the right side of the ledger for a long time as a club and we're currently in this short period, this six-week period, where we're on the wrong side.
"We've got no choice but to work harder and smarter to get ourselves back on top of our game."
0 comments
New User? Sign up