The Swans have a favourable draw in the next three weeks with games against the Suns and Carlton, in which they will start strong favourites even without the four-time Coleman Medal winner, either side of what is shaping as a crucial clash with Essendon at the MCG.

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If they win all three, which is not improbable given their recent form, they will head into the final six rounds of the home-and-away season with their ledger square at 8-8.

Franklin's injury is believed to be similar to that he suffered on the eve of round six. That issue was initially described as "very minor" by the Swans but he still missed four games.

"Lance had a scan this morning which confirms a strain to his hamstring," the Swans' head of football Charlie Gardiner said on Saturday.

"It appears to be a similar injury to the one he sustained leading into round six. We will know more once he is assessed by the medical team early next week but early indications are that he will miss three to four weeks."

It is the second year in a row Franklin has been hampered by injury. He managed 19 games for 57 goals and an eighth All Australian blazer despite a troublesome heel problem last season that limited his training.

But this year his pre-season was severely interrupted after groin surgery. This had affected his campaign, Swans coach John Longmire conceded.

"He had no pre-season which has hurt him. Generally, it's an old saying when you have a good pre-season you have a good season," Longmire said.

"You look back, why have I played well? I've had a solid pre-season.

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"A number of our players were not able to get that through operations. Lance didn't get going until just before the start of the season so he wasn't able to get that conditioning under his belt.

"We can't do anything about it now, just have to wait and see how this rehab is and get him up and going again."

Former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy is worried injuries might be catching up with Franklin though he holds no fears over the champion forward's form when fit, describing his best as still "exquisite".

"Nothing causes injuries quite like injuries," Murphy said on radio station SEN.

"I can't help but wonder if we're getting this year's injuries because of the soreness of last year and his inability to train. That's the worry.

"I wonder if the Swans will look at managing him slightly different, if he plays less games during the year. He's still got plenty left in the tank."

Former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes said if the Swans fell out of the finals race while he was out, it would be worth putting a line through him for this year so he could be fit for the 2020 pre-season.

"Who knows what he can produce next year? He's probably still capable of kicking 50, 60 [goals] next year with a pre-season behind him," Cornes said. "They're the calls they need to make with him. They need to be really smart with him. If they are, they still get at least 40 games at a high level with Buddy [in the next three years]."