Surgery for Swans AFL star Franklin

Sydney forward Lance Franklin played out the AFL season with a shoulder injury which has since required surgery, the Swans have revealed.

Swan's star AFL forward Lance Franklin's recovery from shoulder surgery is near complete. (AAP)

Sydney star Lance Franklin has had surgery on a tear in his shoulder joint after playing out the AFL season with the injury.

The 247-game forward went under the knife on Wednesday and will wear a sling for the next four weeks, Swans football manager Tom Harley said.

"Lance showed great resilience to play out the season under duress," Harley said on Thursday.

"We expect he will make a full recovery and return to training in December."

Franklin booted 81 goals in a superb season for the Swans but was hampered by an ankle injury in their grand-final loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Star midfielder Dan Hannebery suffered a knee injury in the decider but avoided surgery and is expected to recover in time for the start of pre-season training, as are forward Gary Rohan and defender Jeremy Laidler who had clean-up operations on their knees.

Ruckman Sam Naismith is expected to miss most of the pre-season after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction.