Buddy Franklin suffers broken finger in Swans’ win over North Melbourne

Buddy Franklin is set for a period on the sidelines after he suffered a nasty injury in the Swans’ narrow win on Saturday.

Buddy Franklin broke his finger in the Swans' win over North Melbourne.

Buddy Franklin is facing a stint on the sidelines after he broke his finger during the Sydney Swans’ narrow win over North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

Franklin kicked two goals during the first half in his first outing at the SCG since he reached the historic 1000-goal milestone a fortnight ago.

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But Swans fans held their collective breath when he was subbed out of the game late in the third quarter after he was left clutching his hand in a contest.

In obvious pain, Franklin headed straight to the bench and down to the change rooms and took no further part in the game — he was replaced by medical substitute Ben Ronke.

After the game, Swans coach John Longmire confirmed the star forward had broken a finger in his left hand.

Franklin will have scans on Monday to determine to the extent of the injury.

That’s a sight no AFL fan wants to see. Pic: Fox Sports.

It’s unclear how long the 35-year-old will be sidelined for but it’s likely he will miss at least a couple of weeks of action.

The Swans trailed for most of the game against a resurgent North Melbourne outfit, who looked like they might pull off an almighty upset.

But Sydney kicked into gear in a frenetic final quarter as they mounted a comeback to steal a hard fought 11-point win.

Isaac Heeney kicked two of the Swans’ five goals in the last term as they secured a 86 (13.8) to 75 (12.3) victory — their third of the season.

Hopefully Buddy isn’t out of action for too long. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The Kangaroos looked the better of the two teams for much of the match and were deadly accurate in front of goal.

The decision to shift captain Jack Ziebell from the backline to the forward line proved a masterstroke as he slotted five goals from just seven kicks.

Another nervous moment for the Swans came when defender Paddy McCartin went down in the last quarter with a head knock.

The former No.1 draft pick, who has a history of nasty concussions, was immediately taken down to the rooms by the trainer for assessment but said he was feeling fine.

Originally published as Buddy Franklin suffers broken finger in Swans’ win over North Melbourne