Sydney sweats on scans on Aliir Aliir’s knee, while Callum Mills is also in doubt for Grand Final

SYDNEY is sweating on scans on Aliir Aliir’s injured knee as it turns its attention to Saturday’s Grand Final, with coach John Longmire still unsure of the prognosis.

SYDNEY is sweating on scans on Aliir Aliir’s injured knee as it turns its attention to Saturday’s Grand Final.

Aliir landed awkwardly in the dying seconds of the opening term of Friday night’s preliminary final and did not return to the field, icing his knee on the bench before being strapped up as he watched his teammates dismantle Geelong at the MCG.

Swans coach John Longmire conceded the club is unsure of the extent of the injury and whether it will rule him out of next week’s decider.

In a positive sign he was not required to stay off his knee with crutches, walking around after the game and was unaided when he boarded a flight back to Sydney this morning.

Aliir Aliir hurt his knee in the first quarter and played no further part in the preliminary final win. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“We’re not sure yet,” Longmire said of Aliir’s prognosis. “The boys have flown back to Sydney this morning so we’ll have to wait and see. He’ll get scans. We’re not sure.

“He landed awkwardly. (But) was walking around. I’m sure that’s a good sign, it’s a better sign than being on crutches.

“We’ll have to wait and see how it pans out.”

The Swans will also be sweating on the availability of Rising Star winner Callum Mills, who missed Friday night with a hamstring injury and co-captain Jarrad McVeigh who missed with a calf issue.

Mills has been an integral part of Sydney’s back six this year with his intercept marking and rebound.

Aliir Aliir has his knee strapped but was not on crutches at the airport on Saturday morning. Picture: David Crosling

Longmire confirmed both Aliir and Mills will be walk-up starts in the Grand Final team should they be declared fit.

“We pick the team that we think will give us the best chance (to win) for next week,” Longmire told SEN.

“Obviously if he’s (Aliir) fit and feeling really good he’ll be in the team. He’s been fantastic for us this season.

“Same with Callum Mills. He missed out (last night). We’re not sure whether he’ll be right this week or not but those guys have been important players for us.

It’s too early to speculate whether Ted Richards could return for the Grand Final, John Longmire says. Picture: Mark Evans

“But we look at the opposition, who wins tonight and that has some impact on who you select. We’ll have a look at the opposition’s forward line and go from there.”

Aliir’s injury might have opened the door for a fairytale return for retiring veteran defender Ted Richards but Longmire said it’s too early to speculate who could replace him should he be sidelined.

“We don’t know yet (if Richards is in the mix). It’s a bit early because we don’t know who we’re playing yet,” he said.

Originally published as Sydney sweats on scans on Aliir Aliir’s knee, while Callum Mills is also in doubt for Grand Final