Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country on Thursday 13th August, 2015.

Lance Franklin will miss Friday night’s critical game against Collingwood at the SCG as he continues to struggle with a back injury.

Franklin didn’t appear for the Swans main training session on Wednesday morning and was ruled out later in the afternoon. It’s the first time the former Hawk has missed two games in a row since he moved to Sydney.

“We need to be smart with him,” Swans co-captain Kieren Jack said.

“He helped us win the game against Adelaide (Round 18) but it’s probably put him back in his recovery. We need to be conservative with him so that when he comes back he’s back for good.”

Lance Franklin's act of solidarity for Adam Goodes has cost him another game with the superstar forward ruled out of Sydney's clash with Collingwood on Friday night.

The reigning Coleman medallist will miss his third game in four weeks in a massive setback for the Swans, who are in the midst of a worrying form slump a month out of the finals. Franklin is still battling the back strain that forced him out of the club's loss to West Coast three weeks ago. Although he was able to play against Adelaide, "under significant duress", in support of Goodes after the booing controversy, it has come at an increasing toll. Franklin was pivotal to the Swans' victory that night but failed to play out the game and has struggled since.

"We were hopeful Lance would get up this week but he hasn't been able to get over the appropriate hurdles, so he'll have another week on the sidelines," said Swans football manager Tom Harley. "The thing I've learnt about Lance is he's an absolute competitor. He loves to play, he's absolutely committed to the footy club. Any time he's not out here he hurts, no doubt. By virtue of the fact when he played the game against Adelaide under significant duress, because he did seize the moment and acknowledged it was such a big game for the football club."

The Swans have won three of the six games Franklin has missed since he came to the club. The Swans will point to their victory against Port Adelaide last month as proof they can kick a winning score without Franklin, but managed just seven and nine goals in their past two games without him, against West Coast and Geelong, though on both occasions their midfield was comfortably beaten.

COLLINGWOOD received a double bonus in its last-ditch bid to stay in the finals race with Travis Cloke all but guaranteed of returning for Friday night’s must-win clash with Sydney — and Swans star Lance Franklin ruled out with ongoing back soreness.

Magpies coach Nathan Buckley conceded his team must win all four remaining games to have any hope of playing in the finals, and the return of Cloke and absence of Franklin assists their cause.

Franklin failed to train on Wednesday, and the Swans ruled him out of the SCG game, with concerns that the injury could potentially keep him out for longer.

“If there’s one thing I know about Lance it’s that he’s a competitor,” Sydney general manager of football Tom Harley told the club’s website. “We were hopeful that Lance would get up this week but he has not been able to get over the appropriate hurdles, so he will have another week on the sidelines.”