Sydney AFL forward-ruckman Kurt Tippett has been diagnosed with a an acute ankle sprain, rather than bone damage, but still looks certain to miss Friday's clash with Collingwood at the SCG.
The 202cm Tippett limped off halfway through the first quarter of Friday night's grand final rematch against Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium, after landing awkwardly on his left ankle during a marking contest.
He went straight to the Swans' rooms and was later seen on crutches, but Swans coach John Longmire confirmed he had dodged a broken fibula.
Tippett underwent scans on Friday night which cleared him of bone damage, with the Swans website on Saturday reporting further tests had confirmed a sprain.
Tippett's prognosis for returning to play will be confirmed on Monday, but he appears certain to miss the match against Collingwood, who like Sydney have made an 0-2 start to the season.
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Tippett is likely to be joined on the sidelines by defender Zak Jones, who was reported for a late bump on Bulldogs forward Travis Cloke.
Jones is almost certain to be suspended after lining up Cloke and making contact with his head, resulting in a 50-metre penalty and an easy Bulldogs goal.
The incident appeared to spark the reigning premiers after Sydney opened the game with four unanswered goals.
The Swans trailed by 22 points at three-quarter time but stole the lead midway through the final term on the back of Lance Franklin booting three goals in 10 minutes.
But some late heroics from Marcus Bontempelli and a contentious goal to Liam Picken helped the Bulldogs deny Sydney their grand final revenge with a 16.14 (110) to 13.9 (87) win.
Picken was awarded a free kick directly in front of goal after Sydney's Callum Mills was controversially pinged for a deliberate rushed behind despite having been within the goal square.
It was a bitter defeat for the Swans but there were bright signs from several newcomers.
The Swans lined up with three debutants in Will Hayward, Nic Newman and Robbie Fox and second-gamer Oliver Florent, all of whom impressed in a physical and intense game.
"Some of the kids I thought were just fantastic," Longmire said.
"That's pretty red-hot footy. It doesn't get much hotter than that out there against last year's premiers (and) Friday night footy."
The Bulldogs enjoyed a lopsided free-kick count during last year's grand final and it was the case again on Friday night, with the premiers awarded 31 compared to Sydney's 18.
"The holding the ball decisions (between) us and them ... we must have missed something," Longmire said.
"They must be doing something a bit different that we need to look at."
