Injury-ravaged Sydney received some welcome respite from its playing woes with key midfielder Paul Williams anticipating an earlier than expected return for the Swans.

Williams said he was targeting the May 22 clash against the Western Bulldogs at the SCG as his comeback appearance after undergoing surgery this month to fix a broken collarbone.

The 32-year-old was initially expected to miss up to two months after meeting with surgeons on April 18.

"It's feeling really good, so I'll start running on Monday," Williams said.

"The beauty, I suppose, of getting a shoulder and arm injury is that you can keep your fitness up, so I'm looking forward to now having a mini pre-season.

"I'll give myself a really good chance of getting back for the Western Bulldogs game."

The two-time club champion and former All-Australian broke his right collarbone in a heavy tackle from Adelaide's Graham Johncock during the Swans' round four loss to the Crows.

While Williams' recovery is welcome news to the Swans, Sydney's struggling midfield still face a giant task trying to control the engine room of league-leaders West Coast at Subiaco Oval this Saturday night.

After enjoying a few memorable jousts with the Eagles' Chris Judd in recent clashes, Williams said he had tutored one of the Swans likely to mark the Brownlow Medallist.

"I've enjoyed playing on Chris, because he's a super player," Williams said of Judd.

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