Unsung hero Braeden Campbell is set to provide Sydney with a timely boost when he makes his long-awaited return against Adelaide.
The influential utility will play his first AFL game of the season in Friday night's SCG clash as the second-placed Swans look to bounce back from last week's dismal loss to Fremantle.
Campbell had been sidelined with a stress fracture in his shin since February, before playing in the VFL last week for his first football minutes of the year.
Key forward Logan McDonald also returns to the line-up after a fortnight out with a quad strain, with Riley Bice and Malcolm Rosas recalled.
"Braeden will play. It's a great story for the footy club," Swans coach Dean Cox said on Thursday.
"He played 90 minutes last week, looked really sharp. He's trained with the main squad for a long time.
"We're really pleased with the way he played, and part of me wanted to look at it straight away at AFL, but ... he's ready now.
"I told him yesterday that he'll play. I told him before training ... he's been out of footy for a long time and he's worked extremely hard to get here.
"He's as strong as he's ever been, so hopefully he can show that."
Campbell slots into a Sydney side licking their wounds after coughing up a 25-point lead to lose by 38 to the Dockers.
The Swans (13-4) are still second on the ladder and have a six-point buffer over third-placed Hawthorn, while fifth-placed Adelaide (11-6) are gaining momentum after winning four of their past five games.
Cox said Campbell's speed and class will be essential against the Crows.
"That's one thing that Braeden's always shown," the coach said.
"His ability to cover the ground, play his role when he does it, but then also to execute when he gets the ball.
"He spent time on the bench, understanding the way we want to play.
"They (Adelaide) are the best team defensively, defending length-of-the-ground chains - the way they set up, how quickly they locate a man ... we need to make sure we're under no illusion that's what the game's going to look like."
Adelaide have chosen to manage veteran forward Taylor Walker, while Rory Laird (ankle) is out, with Hugo Hall-Kahan and Isaac Cumming recalled.
The last time Sydney hosted the Crows, the Swans suffered a 90-point humiliation on a night celebrating the famed Bloods culture.
Last year's round-12 fixture doubled as the club's 20-year anniversary celebration for the 2005 premiership.
Cox was adamant the defeat was irrelevant to Friday night's match.
"We were outplayed that night, and it was a really disappointing night for the footy club when you were honouring the 20-year premiership," he said.
"This is a different team. We'll look at what Adelaide have done in the last month or six weeks of footy and prepare them for that."