Richmond will be sweating on the fitness on a host of key players ahead of the crucial clash against the in-form Crows at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.

The injury-depleted Tigers have lost their last two matches by a combined margin of 104 points and are in danger of slipping out of contention for a top-four finish if they can't reverse that trend when they take on Don Pyke's side in Adelaide.

All eyes will be on whether 2017 Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin can shake off the "massive corkie" he picked up against the Cats, but Richmond coach Damien Hardwick expects his star midfielder to be available to take on the Crows.

"He (Martin) finished off the game. He'll look after himself and get it right, so we'd assume he'll play next week," Hardwick said following his side's loss to Geelong.

Hard runner Brandon Ellis (groin), important defender David Astbury (hamstring) and key midfielder Kane Lambert (Achilles) will need to do everything right if they are to be considered for the trip to the City of Churches, but underrated backman Nick Vlastuin (hip) is likely to recover in time.