The man who was Hawthorn’s fitness boss during Lance Franklin’s entire nine-year stint at the club has urged the star forward to shed weight in order to prolong his career.
Franklin suffered a serious hamstring injury at Sydney training last week, with the Swans confirming he faces multiple months on the sidelines.
Andrew Russell, who is now heading up Carlton’s fitness program after previously working at Hawthorn, is urging the 33-year-old to lose weight in order to prevent further serious injury.
"If I was talking to (Franklin), and I will reach out to 'Bud', I will be trying to get him to drop weight," Russell said on Fox Footy Live.
"I don't know what he's doing in his program now...but his mobility and flexibility program and trying to drop weight would be the things I would be focusing on.
"The biggest thing that a lot of guys do that prolongs their career is actually getting lighter.
"The reality is it helps them; less load on their joints and soft-tissue structures.
"(Franklin's) just got to get back to consistent training before he can even think about playing footy.
"Athletically, he's unbelievably special. What I saw him do I've never seen anyone in the game come close to on the training track."