Raring to continue his breakout season, injured Sydney star Justin McInerney is confident he's on target to make his AFL return before finals.
The 25-year-old's red-hot campaign came to a halt in June after the lightning-quick midfielder suffered a serious hamstring tear in their round-13 win over St Kilda.
McInerney had hit his straps in then-injured Errol Gulden's absence, averaging a career-best 23.4 disposals and three clearances a game.
Earmarking the round-23 match against Essendon, the star winger admits he's battling nerves as he looks to play a key role in the Swans' push for a premiership.
Sydney (13-4) are still second behind Fremantle (15-2), but have had mixed results in their last four games since McInerney's injury - beating Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, but losing to top-six teams Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions.
"I actually had this conversation with Tom Papley the other day," McInerney said on Wednesday.
"Soft tissues are a bit of a different one. They play a bit more on your mind and I think with the end goal of finals coming up, it makes it a little bit tougher.
"But I think with the support network that we have at the club and the physios that we have, they do a great job in giving you confidence.
"That when you get back, you'll be ready to go, and that it's very strong and when I get back, hopefully all is smooth."
View this post on Instagram
McInerney said he was surprised by the severity of his injury, saying the incident against the Saints appeared innocuous.
"I got pushed and hunched over, and the weird mechanism pulled in the hammy and then I felt it go," McInerney said.
"But I still jogged off and I felt pretty good going forward. I thought I was only going to be out for maybe a month and the scan came back not great.
"I'm doing a little bit of stuff on the bench (during rehabilitation), so I'm trying to help out the boys doing that and help the coaches in terms of getting messages across."
Sydney forward Logan McDonald is primed to make his return against Adelaide on Friday night after missing the last fortnight with a quad strain, while hamstrung defender Sam Wicks is four weeks away.
Fellow key forward Joel Amartey is not expected to return from an Achilles injury until finals, while the Swans have yet to determine a timeline for ruck Pete Ladhams (groin).
Sidelined with a shin stress fracture, Braeden Campbell could also be a chance against the Crows after playing in the VFL last week for his first match of the year.
McInerney was speaking at Sydney's "Round 42" campaign launch with Red Cross Lifeblood - an initiative to remind Australians of the importance of blood donation this winter.
The club's round-24 match against North Melbourne will be themed as "Round 42" to highlight that donated blood has a shelf life of just 42 days.
"I'm actually targeting the week before, but hopefully I'm playing 'Round 42' regardless," McInerney said.
"Every 18 seconds, blood gets used in hospitals - that is an amazing stat and very eye-opening for me."
