The club is yet to make a call this week on Kennedy, but will not put the man considered their best midfielder, and one of the favourites for the Brownlow, in a position in which he could aggravate his injury so close to the finals. "Josh Kennedy hasn't got a tear, his hamstring's tight," Swans coach John Longmire said. "He's got a little bit of fluid on the outside of his hamstring but no tear in there, so that's a really good sign. "We'll see how he goes this week but we're not going to take any risks with him. "We'll be relying on our medical staff to make that call ... I don't have to sit here and say how important he is to us, I think the whole world knows how important he is. "He's a good player but at the moment if he doesn't play this week it'll be a maximum one week out, so that's a good sign."

The prognosis for Bird is also positive. The Swans will learn more about Bird's situation on Friday but are optimistic the midfield stopper will also miss no more than one week after hurting the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. "At this stage it's looking like a one-week [injury], hopefully that's all it is," Longmire said. "We're reasonably confident he'll be OK next week if he gets through this week." Longmire said Sam Reid, who landed awkwardly on his knee in a tackle, was not badly hurt. He was to be monitored during the week. Dan Hannebery was cleared of any injury after a heavy hit.

The injuries to Kennedy and Bird, however, will not pave the way for a fairytale recall for Ryan O'Keefe. This is despite the veteran's playing a similar inside role to Kennedy and Bird in the Swans' midfield. "It's unlikely," Longmire said of this scenario. Instead, Nick Smith and Rhyce Shaw will return if fit after missing the past fortnight with back and ankle injuries respectively. "If those two are available they'll be selected in the team because they need to make sure they get some more football under their belt," Longmire said. Youngsters Tom Mitchell and Zak Jones are also in the running for promotions although the competition for senior spots is hot, particularly as those on the fringe, such as Jeremy Laidler, Shane Biggs and Jake Lloyd, are performing well.

"If you go through our team on the weekend there's a number of younger kids there who have come in that haven't played a whole heap of senior football, and done a good job for us – hopefully that continues," Longmire said. "Our reserves had a really good win on the weekend, we were pleased with how they went. We think there's still a bit of depth down there."