SYDNEY midfielder Sofia Hurley will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair an ankle fracture, with her return timeline to be determined after the operation, according to coach Colin O’Riordan.

The final quarter of Sydney’s 31-point victory over Greater Western Sydney on Sunday took a sombre turn when play was paused as Hurley was stretchered off with a severe left ankle injury suffered in a heavy tackle. She received on-field treatment and pain relief before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, O’Riordan said Hurley suffered a small, displaced ankle fracture. He confirmed there was no syndesmosis damage and described the break as being as "clean" as possible under the circumstances.

“Yeah, tough scenes. She's a true trooper,” he said.

“She's going to have surgery today, and we'll know more post-surgery, and then obviously see a timeline after that.

“But, in typical ‘Sof’ fashion, she just wants to get on with it, get the surgery done, and get back to playing. 

“There was a small fracture in it, obviously, when it was displaced. So, I think it's as clean a break, though, as you can have. So, I guess that's a positive in a negative. They'll know more when they get in there and see what they're dealing with. But until then, we probably don't have a complete answer.”

Asked whether Hurley could return before the end of the season, O’Riordan said it was too early to tell.

“We have to wait and see,” he said.

“There's a chance, coming to the back end of the year. It'll depend on the surgery, and when they go in and have a look. But at the minute, it's just getting the surgery done, and then we can make a further assessment once that happens.”

Before being forced out of the match, Hurley was dominant for the Swans, compiling a then game-high 25 disposals and six inside-50s.

In her absence, O'Riordan acknowledged that no single player can fully replace Hurley's leadership, but said Sydney has several midfield options it can turn to ahead of this week's clash with Port Adelaide.

“It'll be an interesting one. We have a few angles we can play, obviously, with a few who can rotate through the midfield,” O’Riordan said. 

“Whether that's Darcy Moloney, Tanya Kennedy, who has played the past two games and been really important, or Lucy McEvoy, who played back at the weekend. It'll be interesting to see if we pull a lever to put her back inside this week.

“We have that option up our sleeve. Chloe (Molloy) obviously played a little bit inside on the weekend as well. So, we'll just have to wait and see what it looks like this week, but we have a few things we can put in place.”

MEDICAL ROOM Every club's AFLW injury list

Hurley's injury comes after defender Brenna Tarrant suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last week.

“It was like most ACL injuries unfortunately — just innocuous,” O’Riordan said of Tarrant’s damage post-match. 

“It wasn't a heavy collision; we were doing a contest drill, and she was in a wide stance, went to change direction, and it unfortunately just popped. 

“We're really disappointed to lose Brenna, and it will be a learning curve with a new-look backline, but hopefully everyone else can step up to the plate.”

With the group losing two key players in the space of a week, O'Riordan backed the team's depth and "next player in" mentality to absorb the setbacks.

“The group is incredibly resilient. As a coach, I get up every day with immense pride in how they show up every single day with a great attitude where it's a 'next person in' approach,” he said.

“Our system is what stacks up in big games, and it's not reliant on one or two big players. It's everyone buying in as a collective and going for the same outcome, and I think we've seen that over the past five weeks.

“While it's really disappointing to have the injuries — and that doesn't diminish the impact of any of them — what we know as a collective group is that our system stacks up.”