Dangerfield set for over a month out, Swans captain suffers fresh injury blow

The Sydney Swans will be without captain Callum Mills for a little while longer, with the 27-year-old star suffering a fresh injury.

The club advised on Tuesday that scans have revealed a low-grade calf strain for Mills, meaning his return to play date is “likely to be pushed back a few weeks”.

Mills was set for a return near Round 13 after Sydney’s Round 12 bye. The star midfielder injured his shoulder in an off-season mishap and is yet to play this year.

Down south, Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield will also be absent from the field for the coming weeks after scans returned a moderate hamstring strain.

Dangerfield looked sharp in Geelong’s eventual Round 7 win over the Blues but was subbed off in the third term with a hamstring complaint.

The Cats have revealed Dangerfield will miss at least four weeks, putting his earliest return against Richmond in Round 12.

However, the Cats stressed they will be cautious with the fresh blow after a similar concern earlier this year.

“The injury Pat has sustained is similar to the one from earlier in the season where he missed 21 days. Given the injury is to the same leg, we will continue to take a conservative approach in his recovery and return to play,” assistant footy boss Brett Johnson said in a club statement.

“With a focus to set Pat up for the second part of the season, at this stage he will miss four-to-six weeks, however we will re-assess his progress and the timeframe that he returns to the line-up as he works through his training program.”