Speaking to media on Monday afternoon, coach John Longmire confirmed that Pyke would miss this week’s match with what has now been diagnosed as a back-related hamstring concern.
“Pyke won’t play Thursday,” he said.
“Initially the medical staff said it was just minor, but he still hasn’t come along to the point we’d like him to, so it’s still not quite right.
“It’s a bit back-related as well, so what we initially thought would only be one week has turned into four weeks.”
While Pyke will not line up in this week’s Indigenous Round opener, Longmire said he was hopeful the 30-year-old would recover in time for the Swans’ round 12 clash against the Gold Coast Suns on June 8.
“We’re hoping that he will be right next week,” he said.
“He’s running but he’s not able to take the next step in the sprint work and change of direction that he needs to do before the ball work.
“We’re hoping to get that stage into him over the weekend to have him okay for next week.”
With Pyke out of the side, the Swans will again rely on former Tiger Tom Derickx to shoulder the majority of the ruck work against the Cats.
Derickx, who played just two games in three seasons at Richmond, has played a string of consistent matches in Pyke’s absence, which has impressed the Swans’ coach.
“He’s been on that learning curve pretty quickly this year after only playing two games at the Tigers,” Longmire said.
“Even though he’s a bit more mature as far as age is concerned, he’s still learning the game very much.
“He’s been good, he’s been solid and he’s been doing his job and keeping it pretty simple.”
Longmire backed Derickx ahead of Thursday night’s match, where he will come up against Geelong ruck duo Dawson Simpson and Hamish McIntosh.
“He’s been making a contest in the middle of the ground and this week once again he gets another challenge against (Dawson) Simpson and (Hamish) McIntosh who are both quality ruckman and are two big blokes as well,” he said.
“Obviously he’s only played two games before this year, so he’s just playing more and naturally the more you play the more you learn.”
The Cats could also face a big out this week, with key defender Tom Lonergan in doubt for Thursday night’s match after being subbed out of the Cats’ 20-point win over North Melbourne last weekend.
While acknowledging that Lonergan’s absence could be a big loss for Geelong, Longmire said the Cats still boasted plenty of depth in their defence.
“They’ve got plenty of good players and they’re not far off being at full strength,” he said.
“When you’ve got players of the likes that they do, they’ve probably got one of the best defences going around anyway.
“They’ve got plenty of good players, and while Lonergan is a very good player, they’ve got others down there that can fill the role, I’m sure.”
Longmire said he felt his team were prepared for this week’s match after a well-deserved mini-break over the bye week.
“We went pretty hard on Sunday and we needed to,” he said.
“We had a good, solid hit-out and most of the boys were able to train, which was good.
“We just had the four days off after the Essendon game and got back into it mid last week and then trained over the weekend.
“Obviously now all of our attention turns to what has been the most successful team in the last ten years in the Cats this Thursday.
“It’s going to be a fantastic contest.”
