Sydney's Irish recruit Brendan Murphy has quit the AFL club to return home after a two-year stint in Australia marred by injuries.

Murphy, 20, played 25 reserves games and had a number of injury problems including a shoulder reconstruction.

"I have enjoyed my two years at the Swans and I thank the club for the opportunity to play AFL," Murphy said on Wednesday in a Swans statement.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make but it has been a frustrating year with injuries and I feel as a consequence I've lost the drive and passion to play AFL."

Swans coach Paul Roos, who is keen to lure 2005 AFL premiership player Tadhg Kennelly back from Ireland to Sydney in the next year or two, has also left the door open for Murphy's possible return.

"Murph made a big sacrifice to come to Australia to be an AFL player and we are disappointed to see him go," Roos said.

"Equally we understand the difficulty of relocating to Australia, and once you lose that passion to play the best decision is to return home."

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