All-Australian defender Nick Smith is likely to miss Saturday night’s clash against Gold Coast after being sidelined by a hamstring strain suffered against St Kilda.

Smith pulled up sore during the third quarter of the Swans’ 97-point win over the Saints at Etihad Stadium and finished the rest of the game icing his right leg on the interchange bench.

In a bid to fit for week one of finals, general Manager of Football Tom Harley says the club will err on the side of caution.

“He has a really minor injury at the moment and given the importance of Nick we will take a conservative approach so he is unlikely to play this week with a view to playing the following week in the first week of the finals,"

“He is a really important player and being the absolute proffesional that he is I am sure he will give himself every opportunity to have a really impactful finals series for us."

Luke Parker’s hopes of playing finals is growing legs after the midfielder was spotted walking within two weeks after having a 20-30cm plate inserted to repair a broken fibula suffered during the Swans’ Round 20 clash against Collingwood.

Parker hopes to be running again – with help from the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill – by the end of the week.

“He will start to do some really light running over the weekend maybe even as soon as Friday," he said.

"We need to respect the fact he has had a broken leg but the surgery with the plate went really well so he is still a chance to contibute for us during the finals."

Dan Robinson (2-3 weeks) is also vying for a return this September, hoping to be available for selection pending how far the AFL and NEAFL Swans progress in finals.

The NEAFL Swans’ will have to be without Nic Newman for Saturday’s semi-final against Aspley after the defender hurt his elbow in last weekend’s Round 22 win over the Hornets.