Hentschel saw a specialist on Thursday after developing swelling in his right knee early in the game against Melbourne at the MCG last weekend.
The 27-year-old experienced similar knee swelling in the Crows’ round two loss to St Kilda last season.
On that occasion, he had two separate operations on his knee and spent 12 weeks on the sidelines.
Hentschel, who is out of contract at season’s end, was expected to have the same corrective surgery when he visited the surgeon on Friday, taking the number of procedures he’s had on his reconstructed right knee to seven.
The courageous forward could miss anywhere between 4-12 weeks of football, but Craig was confident this latest setback wouldn’t spell the end of the popular clubman’s career.
“I’m still really positive with Trent, unless I get different information tonight or tomorrow morning. I think it (the injury) is very similar to what happened to him last year where there just needs to be a bit of surgery occur because of the scar tissue,” Craig said on Friday.
“Hopefully, it is just scar tissue and I think he’ll be able to continue his career. It’s open-ended though isn’t it? I’m open-minded about it and Trent’s open-minded about it.
“I had a good discussion with him yesterday, after the game and again this morning. He’s very resilient and what I do know is that he won’t be left wondering. It’s a crucial surgery for him obviously, but I’m still really positive.”
Hentschel has played just 10 of a possible 76 games, since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and dislocating his kneecap in a horrific incident against Port Adelaide in round 21, 2006.
On Thursday, physical performance manager Stephen Schwerdt told AFL.com.au the club was concerned whether Hentschel’s knee could tolerate an AFL workload over an extended period of time.
“Trent's knee gets back to 100 per cent for him to be able to play and perform, that's not the issue," Schwerdt said.
"I saw him training on Saturday morning and he was moving as smoothly as I've ever seen him move. We've seen him get back to the great movement he had before the injury (in 2006). Now the main issue is that this (swelling from playing) doesn't happen on an ongoing basis because it obviously sets him back a little while."
Craig said it was possible Hentschel might need to have the corrective procedure on a regular basis in order to keep playing and training at the highest level.
In better news, the Crows expect to regain midfielder Nathan van Berlo from a slight hamstring strain for next week’s clash with the Western Bulldogs, but utility Scott Stevens is likely to miss yet another week with concussion.
Stevens has not played since being knocked out in Adelaide’s lost to Fremantle in round one.
The former Sydney Swan spent a week on the sidelines after being concussed against Freo in round two last season and then took another couple games to look comfortable back at the level.
Craig conceded he was desperate to get Stevens back into the Crows’ depleted defence, but said he wouldn’t recall the reliable swingman until he was ready.
“Scott’s still not feeling confident to play. I’m not going to push him in any way, shape or form because in that arena with the speed of the game now and the information these guys have got to process and do it quickly, to go into that arena if you’re not sharp in the mind is a very bad decision.”
