Adelaide Senior Coach Matthew Nicks is giving star midfielder Izak Rankine every opportunity to prove his fitness ahead of Thursday night’s Gather Round opener against Geelong.
Rankine suffered a knock to his calf during Adelaide’s Round Four clash against Gold Coast.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Nicks said it was not yet clear if the midfielder would take his place in Thursday’s clash against the Cats.
“I don’t know as yet (if Izak will play), we don’t really get a chance to train this week unfortunately, but we’ll have a Captains’ Run tomorrow which we would like to see him get involved in, but we’ll just see how he pulls up” Nicks said.
“He got a knock to the calf, there’s some bleeding there but there’s no muscle damage, so it’s one we just need to be mindful of.
“The speeds that he gets up to it does put some pressure on that calf, so the last thing we want is to lose him for a month or so.
“At the moment there is some doubt but he’s pretty confident (that he’ll play), and I think with it being a huge weekend of footy and a big Thursday night game, Izak enjoys the big stage, so he’s really pushing to play.”
The final decision would be made by both player and coach, with a view on the long term future front of mind.
“It will be a joint decision, we’ll put some faith in him (Izak) to make the right decision, we may have to step in if need be, but we’ll see how he goes tomorrow,” Nicks said.
“On that one we have to look a little bit more long term, everything we are doing at the moment is focusing on the now, but you’ve got to be smart in that space.
“We’ll do whatever we can to try and make the right decision, we know how much he means to our team and he’s playing some superb footy around stoppage for us, but we’ve got other guys ready to step up if need be.”
Fellow midfielder Matt Crouch is a strong chance to return to the line-up after being rested for the Crows’ trip to Queensland.
“We did (rest Crouch with an eye to play him this week), that gave him a slightly longer break and he’s pulled up quite well from that and it’s another decision we’ll have to make tomorrow,” Nicks said.
“We’ve still got a squad of around 28 players that we haven’t necessarily locked in our 23 as yet.
“We’ll get a feel for how we are going in that space tomorrow.”
Adelaide will open Gather Round for a third-straight season, when it faces reigning Preliminary finalist Geelong on Thursday night.
“We love the fact that we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to open Gather Round the past few years,” Nicks said.
“I know our guys enjoy the occasion, and just in general it is a great thing to be a part of, there is a definite vibe around the city and it is all about footy this weekend.
“Having been in the spotlight (on the Thursday night) before we know what to expect, and it is a challenge we are excited to tackle this weekend.”
Adelaide takes on Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night, with the first bounce at 7.10pm (ACST).
