Suspension and the bye have combined to supercharge Lance Franklin for the Swans’ assault on the finals.

A special training program was activated for the veteran in his two-week break after an enforced game off ran into the bye.

A refreshed Franklin, 35, returns this week for the clash against an improving Port Adelaide in Adelaide, with a victory ensuring the seventh-placed Swans will stay in touch with the top four and the double chance on a crowded ladder.

Swans coach John Longmire said Franklin had a few days off before returning to training.

“He did some high-speed running that he really needs,” Longmire said on Tuesday. “I’ve spoken about that many times, that’s a really important part of his program.

“He was able to do some high-speed running and some more gym work. So he had the break but also had a couple of weeks to get himself right physically for the back end of the year. Hopefully that’ll pay some dividends.

“He was out there training today and trained quite well. He’ll have another sharpen-up on Thursday and hopefully be ready to play for Saturday.”

Franklin is in the last season of a nine-year, $10 million deal and has shown remarkable longevity for a 199cm, 106kg footballer given he failed to play a match in 2020 because of ongoing injuries.

The Swans used the second half of that season to painstakingly rebuild him with a specially formulated training program that resulted in him completing 18 games last year for 51 goals and ten matches so far this season for 28 goals. That included his historic 1000th goal in the round-two victory against Geelong.