Sydney Swans lose Jarrad McVeigh and Will Hayward in double injury blow

Sydney have suffered a cruel double injury blow, with Will Hayward and Jarrad McVeigh ruled out for extended periods. BEN HORNE looks at how the Swans plan to cover the two stars.

Sydney’s finals hopes have taken a massive hit despite their last start win, with back half star Jarrad McVeigh ruled out for up to two months.

McVeigh will spend between 6-8 weeks on the sidelines after injuring his quad in the win over Carlton, while gun goal-scoring forward Will Hayward has been ruled out for four weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken jaw.

The crushing news on McVeigh has been exacerbated by news fellow back Heath Grundy is still some time away from returning from a back problem.

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Sydney will have to look to their reserves to fill the key roles for Thursday night’s clash against Melbourne at the SCG, with Kieran Jack back on the radar as well as young stars James Rose and James Rowbottom.

Swans coach John Longmire said losing McVeigh and Hayward were major setbacks.

“Will is obviously an important goal kicker, he has been ever since he came into the team,” said Longmire.

“He’s a fantastic player, so it’s disappointing to lose him and Jarrad obviously.

Jarrad McVeigh will miss an extended period of time. Picture: AAP Images

“Certainly on the weekend, Jarrad was really good with his work down back, his organisation but also his ball use.

“They’re two players out of the team, there are a couple underneath who we are confident will be able to come in and fill those roles for us.”

One boost for the Swans has been the return to fitness of superstar Isaac Heeney.

Heeney has played all three rounds so far in 2019 but has been hampered by an ankle injury he picked up in the pre-season.

Longmire has indicated the niggling problem has restricted the amount he’s been able to play Heeney in the midfield, however indications are the Newcastle-born showstopper is regaining his full movement.

“He hurt his ankle in that last JLT (pre-season) game and dodged a significant injury. So we were quite relieved after that game,” he said.

Will Hayward was injured against Carlton. Picture: AFL Photos

“He’s been training for a couple of weeks, he felt very good last week going into the game. His performance was fantastic.

“A few of our leaders in particular were very strong in a number of regards on the weekend against Carlton.

“They really committed themselves to the contest and played a really good, strong brand of team footy and Isaac is one of those boys.”