’Heartbreaking’: Sydney Swans veteran suffers opening round injury

A Sydney Swans veteran cut a dejected figure after limping from the field in the dying stages of the club’s opening round defeat.

Sydney Swans veteran Taylor Adams endured a horror start to the 2025 season.

In the final quarter of Friday night’s 20-point loss to the Hawks, the Sydney midfielder limped from the field having suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury.

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With the club entering the opening round contest without star Errol Gulden, Adams would have been hoping to lock up his place in the side, having been dropped late last season and missing out on the grand final.

But it all went pear-shaped in the fourth quarter with the 31-year-old star clutching at his right hamstring after being chased down by Hawthorn’s Jack Scrimshaw.

Watch the moment Adams goes down in the video player above

Taylor Adams cut a dejected figure on the bench. Credit: Channel 7

Channel 7’s Xander McGuire provided an update on Adams following the contest and noted the midfielder appeared to have told a teammate the severity of his injury.

“Heartbreaking to watch, that one,” McGuire said.

“Abbey and I saw it right in front of our eyes … he took himself off immediately.

“And as soon as he walked off the ground, one of his teammates came up, ruffled his hair, and said, ‘Are you OK?’ And you could read his lips, and he said, ‘I’ve done my hammy’.

“He sat in the front row of the bench alongside a couple of his teammates for a couple of minutes, composed himself before moving alongside Leon Cameron and media chief Tom Chadwick there.

“Terrible news. He will have scans on that in the coming days, the club at the moment says ‘tightness’, but you fear when a guy who’s done that many hammies in the past says, ‘I’ve done my hammie’, (the news won’t be great).”

The moment he reached for his hammy. Credit: Channel 7

While the Hawks took home the four points, the win came at a cost with midfielder James Worpel seen sporting a moon both and crutches on Saturday morning.

The 26-year-old was tackled by Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy when his ankle got caught underneath.

“Normal procedure is that if you can’t get through the contest, you don’t play the next week,” Jon Ralph told Fox Footy from the SCG.

“I think Hawthorn will be much more concerned about a long-term injury for him. The mechanism as he was tackled there by Brodie Grundy, that does lend itself to a syndesmosis.

James Worpel hurt his ankle in this Brodie Grundy tackle

“Hawthorn tells me they’re not quite sure of the extent of it so far, but look, he was subbed out very quickly — only 10 minutes after the issue — and so clearly, for next week, you’d think he’d be out of the realms of possibility (to play).”

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell attempted to remain optimistic about the severity of Worpel’s injury after the contest.

“All I know at this stage is it’s ankle,” Mitchell said.

“I said, ‘Is it one of those, you know, OK in a couple of days, or one of those six weekers?’ and he goes, ‘I’ll be right’.

“If it’s syndesmosis, that always sounds bad and they are anywhere from six (weeks) to a lot longer so I hope it’s not that.

“I hope he’s just rolled his ankle.”

Originally published as ’Heartbreaking’: Sydney Swans veteran suffers opening round injury