Superstar forward Lance Franklin will miss Sydney's important clash with Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday with a bruised heel.

The Swans' injuries worries continued with news that Dan Hannebery has also been ruled out of the road trip with a groin complaint.

Franklin's issue arose after his side's round one win over West Coast at Optus Stadium, with coach John Longmire revealing that the four-time Coleman medallist has struggled to train fully since the season opener.

Longmire admitted that the controversial surface in Perth played a part in the injury.

"I think that can be a reasonable conclusion to draw from that," he said on Tuesday.

"We had the most amount of players we've (ever) had cramp in that game.

"The feedback that we got was that it was pretty firm and our boys were pretty sore afterwards.

"We knew going into the game that it was reported to be reasonably firm, and we were of the understanding that there would be a lot of work done to improve that, which I understand there was.

"It's a bit similar to Etihad Stadium in its early days I assume, you go through that period of getting things right and improving it, and I'm sure they will."

Hannebery battled a groin issue early last season but Longmire said the star midfielder had a fresh concern.

The triple All Australian representative had an interrupted pre-season when he suffered a calf injury early this year, and he's battled to regain his form in four matches so far in 2018.

The 27-year-old has averaged 20 possessions per game, well down on his usually high output, and hasn't been able to show off the running ability that has made him one of the game's best onballers in recent years.

Nic Newman, Robbie Fox, draftee Matthew Ling and Colin O'Riordan loom as potential replacements for Hannebery, but filling the hole left by Franklin is Longmire's biggest headache and it is compounded by the long-term absence of Sam Reid (quad).

Sydney will likely be forced to play defender Aliir Aliir out of position, or name Darcy Cameron to maske his debut to work in tandem with fellow ruck/forward Callum Sinclair.

Lewis Melican (hamstring) could also be a chance to face Geelong after missing the past two matches.