Adelaide will take a conservative approach with Najwa Allen’s hamstring rehabilitation in a bid to have her available for the closing stages of the season.
Allen won’t feature in Adelaide’s next three games which will be played in the space of 10 days as she continues to recover.
“We are taking a more conservative approach with Naj, she’s an important player so we are going to take a slow approach over the next couple of weeks and try to have her ready for the last three or four games for the year, and hopefully finals if we can make it,” Head of Women’s Football Phil Harper said.
“She can really add to our side, so therefore we will take that slow approach to get her right for those important games towards the end of the year.”
Tamara Henry is expected to be available for selection providing she gets through training following a shoulder injury.
“Tamara went home last week and her shoulder has improved a lot,” Harper said.
“She will be training this week and hopefully be available for selection.”
Brooke Smith has avoided surgery on her broken collarbone and is set to begin rehabilitation in the next week.
“She’s gone home for a week as it’s a bit hard to manoeuvre yourself around with a broken collarbone,” Harper said.
“But in the next week or so she’ll be back into some rehab and getting it strong and hopefully put her hand up to be available towards the end of the season if we can make it all the way through to the finals series.”
Harper said Abbie Ballard made a successful return from a knee reconstruction on the weekend when she played her first AFLW game post-injury.
“It was really pleasing to see Abbie back playing, I think everyone’s heart breaks when a player does an ACL, the amount of time and effort she has put into her rehab is an absolute credit to her and I know the players were really happy to see her back and playing,” Harper said.
INJURY UPDATE
(As of Tuesday, October 1)
Tamara Henry (shoulder) test
Najwa Allen (hamstring) 1-2 weeks
Brooke Smith (collarbone) 7-9 weeks
Eloise Jones (Achilles) season
