Lance Franklin will not appear in Sydney's Friday night football clash with Richmond this weekend after being ruled out by the club on Tuesday.
The Swans confirmed 36-year-old has been sidelined with a knee complaint after copping a knock to the area in the final quarter of Saturday night's nail-biting loss to Port Adelaide.
Franklin has not trained this week.
It's the Swans first Friday night game of the season which will be held at Adelaide Oval as part of the AFL's Gather Round in South Australia.
An opportunity to make amends in front of a large audience could prove one sorely missed for Buddy after coming under fire following Sydney's loss at the weekend.
The 344-game star has drawn criticism for low output across his three games in 2023 so far where he has averaged less than 9 touches and just 1.3 goals at a 36 percent accuracy in front of the sticks.
Franklin career average is 3.1 goals per game.
He was more-or-less shut out of the contest against Port after an underwhelming performance against Melbourne at the MCG the week prior.
Former Swan Allir Aliir's last-gasp effort to stop Oliver Florent's after-the-siren shot from crossing the goal line was, by some, categorised as a blunder to place on Franklin's shoulders.
Pundits were critical of Franklin for failing to impede Aliir's run to the ball, which may have helped the Sherrin make the distance and steal the Swans the win.
Franklin's departure will see Logan McDonald and Joel Amartey fill the side's key positions up front against the Tigers.
McDonald's average output of three goals per game when playing in a Buddy-less forward line was highly publicised after Sydney's dominant win over Hawthorn in round two.
Without the injury, former Essendon champion full forward Matthew Lloyd had said Franklin "has to be" dropped after a string of ordinary outings.
"He's not playing well," Lloyd said on Nine's Sunday Footy Show.
"The three don't work and then you've got Ladhams in the ruck so they're just too big. They have to make a hard decision, Sydney. They've got a lot of talent."
Sydney face Richmond at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
