Coach Phil Walsh says Adelaide could be bolstered by the returns of several players from injury in the coming fortnight.

Forward Josh Jenkins (hip) and midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen (hamstring) could both be available for Adelaide’s trip to Western Sydney to play the Giants next weekend. Jenkins will be considered to provide support for lead ruckman Sam Jacobs, while Ellis-Yolmen would boost the Crows midfield, which has also been hit by injuries to Rory Sloane, Richard Douglas and Brad Crouch.

This follows the earlier-than-anticipated return of Ricky Henderson from a pectoral strain.

Utility James Podsiadly (back) and untried onballer Riley Knight (ankle), who will play in Adelaide’s SANFL clash with the Port Magpies in Balaklava on Sunday, have also removed their names from the injury list. Another young midfielder, Rory Atkins is also only a week or two away from overcoming a long-term knee complaint.

Walsh admitted a lack of continuity in personnel, particularly in the midfield, had posed a challenge to his team but said the injuries had provided opportunities for the Club’s emerging onballers.

“It’s lucky we’ve got pretty good depth there (in the midfield),” Walsh said on Friday.

“Cam Ellis-Yolmen is probably only one week away. He’ll miss this week and then should become available. Hopefully, we slowly start to get some guys back, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in Mitch Grigg, Jarryd Lyons and Matt Crouch to get the job done.”

Sloane, 25, had successful surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone earlier in the week and has already started training again.

Walsh was optimistic Sloane would be back earlier than the original forecast of 4-6 weeks, but said it was too early to put a date on his return.

“It wasn’t a difficult surgery, so there’s no plate or anything. They basically just flipped the bone (that was depressed) back out,” he said.

“Now, we’ve just got to wait. It’s just a time thing with Rory. He’s on the bike right now as we speak. Hopefully, he’ll be able to run next week. We’ll use it as a chance to, maybe, get a little bit of an advantage with his fitness, so that he’s ready to go.

“Sometimes, it’s only three weeks, sometimes four weeks and other times a bit longer, so we’ll just see how Rory goes with it.”

Young midfielder Brad Crouch will also look to increase his workload next week as he continues his rehabilitation from a foot injury.

The former Rising Star runner-up hasn’t played this season after fracturing his foot in Adelaide’s final NAB Challenge game.

He began running again this week without the aid of an Alter-G (anti-gravity) machine, but Walsh said it was unlikely the eldest Crouch sibling would see AFL action until after the bye in Round 11.

“It’s just a matter of getting Brad up to match fitness. It might take three weeks, it might take four weeks,” he said.

“We’re really hopeful that we can get Brad going in the second half of the season. He’ll be a really important player for us.”