He struggled to fully recover and after spending time out on loan at Yeovil Town and Walsall he joined Leeds United in January 2008.
After a brief spell at Elland Road Sweeney played for Grimsby Town, Bury, AFC Wimbledon, Dartford and Greenwich Borough.
[11] Early in the January 2008 transfer window Stoke accepted an undisclosed bid for the midfielder from Leeds United, with whom he swiftly agreed personally terms, and it was announced that he would sign, subject to a medical the following week.
Sweeney made a loan move in March 2009 to Grimsby Town, signing until the end of the season, along with Bradford City forward Barry Conlon and fellow Leeds player Jonathan Lund.
Sweeney then scored a superb volley against his former club Leeds in the third round of the Football League Trophy at Elland Road: a corner resulted in Leeds keeper Casper Ankergren punching the ball out to Sweeney, who smashed in a left foot volley from the edge of the area that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar; however Grimsby went on to lose the game 3–1.
[20] Despite failing to hold down a regular starting place for "The Shakers" during the 2010–11 season, Sweeney performed consistently when called upon by manager Alan Knill.
Following Knill's departure, Sweeney entered the fold under Richie Barker following suspensions and injuries to regular midfield duo Damien Mozika and Steven Schumacher eventually helping the club to earn promotion from League Two.
[26] After only seven appearances for "The Dons", Sweeney suffered a broken foot in a game against Northampton Town on 19 February 2013 at Kingsmeadow|The Cherry Red Records Stadium.
[36] In May 2019, Sweeney's former Grimsby Town teammate Paul Linwood appeared on the 'I Had Trials Once' podcast on Spotify, in the interview he spoke about his time at the club during the 2009–10 season.