Franklin had played every game for the Swans so far this season since crossing from Hawthorn but was a surprise late withdrawal ahead of Friday night’s clash with Essendon at the SCG.
The man known as Buddy was officially withdrawn due to soreness - which in AFL lexicon is normally code for being rested.
But Sydney coach John Longmire was at pains to say in his post-match press conference that 27-year-old Franklin had suffered a flare up of knee tendonitis over the last week, putting him in some doubt for next week’s game as well.
“He’s got that bit of tendonitis,” declared Longmire after the Swans shrugged off Franklin’s absence to beat the Bombers by 22 points.
“We expected him to play. I spoke to him this morning and yeah, yesterday we fully expected him to play.
“Today he was still sore so he thought it was better off not to play because he was concerned about getting through the game.
“It’s been really good his tendonitis (this year) up until this point. But it just flared up a little bit from last week so hoping it should be right this week.
Longmire wasn’t sure last week’s bruising loss to Hawthorn had played a role in the soreness.
“Immediately afterwards (the Hawthorn game) it was okay,” Longmire said.
“It was just a bit sore when he went to train on Wednesday and he couldn’t do a lot of training.
“Normally, in the end, he pulls up okay the next day but then he was just a bit sore again this morning and he’s a pretty good judge of when he can play and when he can’t.
“He’s been able to play with a sore knee and contribute really well through the course of the year, so when he said this morning he was too sore too play, we knew that was the case and we moved on and we got Timmy Membrey (to debut).
Longmire will be hoping to have a fit Franklin on board for next Saturday’s clash against the Power at the Portress, aka Adelaide Oval.
Last time the two sides played – admittedly when Port were still in form – the Swans were forced to old on in a thriller for a four-point win as Ken Hinkley’s men produced a superb late charge.
And Franklin was at the heart of Sydney’s win, booting all five of his goals in a dominant second half.
“At this stage, he should be all right (for next week),” Longmire said before adding: “But we expected him to play tonight too.”