“If it has been a significant tear they would have ruled him out straight away,” said Brukner,who has been team doctor for Melbourne and Collingwood,as well as national athletics,swimming,soccer,men’s hockey and cricket teams.

“Normally,you would expect a muscle tear like that to be a two- to three-week injury at least. But if it’s just a relatively minor tear or even just tightening they may have taken him off as a precaution.”

Reid and McInerney may have been missing from training on Tuesday,but Franklin,35,was the man the 3000-plus fans who turned up to the open session wanted to see after announcing on Monday night that he would play on again next season.

Franklin wanted the news out early in grand final week to avoid constant speculation about whether it would be his last match.

“It’s terrific news for us,” Longmire said.

“We talked about it internally – ‘Do we do it this week?’ – but he was really keen to say,’Listen,let’s get it done and dusted,otherwise the focus might be,‘Is it my last game?’ – and he didn’t want that to happen.

“He wanted the focus to be on the grand final.He’s just thinking about the team.”

Geelong will start favourites on Saturday following their comprehensive 71-point win over Brisbane on Friday night,the only blowout in an otherwise tight finals series.

Longmire knows beating Geelong is a formidable task.

“They’ve won 15 games in a row,” he said. “They’ve finished two games clear at the top of the ladder,and so they’re a fantastic team. They’re playing the best footy of anyone.

“So we understand it’s going to be a real challenge,but we’re confident in what we’ve been doing and our players and their ability to stick to the task. It’s going to be a great grand final.”

The Swans do have the knowledge that way back in round two they beat the Cats by 30 points at the SCG,one of just four teams to manage the feat this season.