Sydney Swans forward Lance Franklin will have a delayed start to pre-season training after undergoing surgery on his groin on Tuesday.

Franklin injured his groin in the final minutes of Sydney’s Round 22 win against GWS and returned to play in the Club’s elimination final.

It is expected Franklin will return to skills training in January.

New Swans Head of Football Charlie Gardiner says he expects Franklin to recover well from surgery.

“It was planned that rest would be the optimal form of recovery post-season for Lance, however it hasn’t healed at the rate we would have liked and surgery was determined as the best course of action,” Gardiner said.

“We are confident Lance will make a full recovery and he’ll do everything possible to bounce back and play a big part in 2019.”