Sydney coach Dean Cox would rather not lose his star players to pre-season injuries but believes it’s inevitable in the pursuit of an AFL premiership.

The Swans will be without their captain Callum Mills and ball magnet Errol Gulden for the season opener against Hawthorn at the SCG on Friday night.

Mills will be out for at least four weeks after suffering a plantar fascia tear during training, while Gulden is out indefinitely with a fractured ankle.

Gulden’s leg got caught under him in a tackle during a pre-season match against Gold Coast.

“That’s what happens when you’re playing games and trying to get prepared for a season,” Cox said on Wednesday.

“If you want to push the boundaries as much as you possibly can to get them in the shape they need to be, you’re unfortunately going to lose one or two along the way.

“It’s not great to lose some of the calibre of players we do, but that’s why you have a squad.

“Errol missing isn’t ideal but we have to move on from that pretty quickly.”

The Swans are hoping to at least welcome back ruck Brodie Grundy (knee) and livewire forward Tom Papley (ankle).

The pair both sustained the injuries during training, with Grundy suffering a knock to his right knee and Papley spraining his ankle.

“So far, they’ve done what’s required, which is pleasing for us,” Cox said.

“They did what I had to do Monday. Now it’s about trying to ramp right up for tonight’s (Wednesday) session.

“We’ll assess them after training but also tomorrow morning to see how they pull up.”

Logan McDonald (ankle), defensive duo Harry Cunningham (foot) and Robbie Fox (calf) are also among the names on the 11-player injury list.

McDonald is not expected back until after the club’s round-three bye following his off-season surgery, with Cunningham sidelined for at least four weeks with a Lisfranc injury.

Fox has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a recurrence of a calf strain.

“The difference you have to try and separate is, are they injuries purely from impact or are they soft tissue, ones you can avoid?” Cox said.

“Errol’s you can’t control other than him not playing.

“The other ones with Callum and Brodie, they’re ones that have happened through training sessions.

“We need to make sure that (when) you put them in this position, they’re aware of outcomes that can happen and but you have to get them prepared for the start of the season.

“The game demands are so high now that if you don’t do that, then you get caught short come Friday night or the following week or the week after.”

Joanna Guelas
(Australian Associated Press)