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Lance Franklin cleared after KO blow in Sydney Swans' NAB Challenge victory | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Sydney Swans stars Lance Franklin and Kieren Jack should be available for round one of the AFL season after precautionary scans in Canberra cleared them both of injury on Sunday. | |
Franklin was knocked out after colliding with team-mate Gary Rohan in the first quarter of their pre-season win over Greater Western Sydney that also saw co-captain Jack taken to hospital for abdominal scans. | |
The Swans rallied in their absence at Manuka Oval, with Craig Bird kicking a goal on the siren to down the Giants 0.11.7 (73) to 0.9.13 (67) in a topsy-turvy affair. | |
The Swans confirmed soon after the match that both players had been cleared of injury and would fly back to Sydney with their team-mates on Sunday afternoon. | |
Rohan exited the Franklin head clash the better out of the pair and despite briefly returning to the bench unassisted, he played out the remainder of the game. | |
The Giants had injury concerns of their own, with forward Will Hoskin-Elliott leaving Manuka Oval in the last quarter with a shoulder injury. | |
“He got hit really hard in the middle of the ground,” coach Leon Cameron said. “No doubt he’ll have some scans tomorrow.” | |
Franklin’s slumping to the turf would have initially had Swans fans fearing they’d be without their star for a good chunk of the AFL season. | |
Knocked out after smashing his cheek into Rohan’s head in the first 10 minutes, Franklin lay motionless for a short period in front of 7,222 onlookers before regaining consciousness. | |
Doctors tending to him had to insist he not get back up and he was then put in a neck brace, secured on a stretcher and carried off the field. | Doctors tending to him had to insist he not get back up and he was then put in a neck brace, secured on a stretcher and carried off the field. |
The Coleman Medallist was soon cleared of any serious injuries by the team’s medical staff at the ground and was filmed walking towards an ambulance to visit Canberra Hospital for further assessment. | The Coleman Medallist was soon cleared of any serious injuries by the team’s medical staff at the ground and was filmed walking towards an ambulance to visit Canberra Hospital for further assessment. |
Sydney stand-in coach Stuart Dew said he believed both players were fine. “At this stage they should be ok,” he said. | |
Jeremy Cameron was a stand out for the Giants with a five goal haul, while Callan Ward (25 possessions) was busy around the park. Meanwhile Luke Parker (29 possessions, one goal) and Nick Smith (24 possessions) had solid games for the Swans. | |