Andy Otten is on track to make his long-awaited comeback from a second knee reconstruction within a month, but Mitch Grigg faces a stint on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
Grigg, who has played the last five games for the Crows, sprained his ankle whilst running over the break. Head of Football David Noble said the left-footer requires further assessment to determine the extent of the injury.
“Unfortunately, ‘Griggy’ rolled his ankle quite significantly and will be out for several weeks,” Noble said.
“We’re not quite sure of the exact timeframe at the moment, but he’s in a moon boot and will be for a few weeks.”
Young defender Jake Lever has also been ruled out of Thursday night’s clash with Hawthorn because of an ankle complaint.
Lever, 19, sprained his ankle in the dying minutes of Adelaide’s Round Nine match against Fremantle and missed the Club’s most recent game against Carlton. The injury is healing more slowly than initially expected, and will see Lever spend another week on the sidelines.
Ricky Henderson has made progress in his recovery from a nagging back complaint, but will need to pass a fitness test later in the week. Defender Sam Shaw (concussion) and forward/ruckman Luke Lowden (Achilles) also hope to prove their fitness ahead of the Club’s SANFL match against Woodville-West Torrens on Saturday.
Otten is back in full training and aiming to make his return in the SANFL in a few weeks.
The versatile tall hasn’t played at any level since rupturing the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) in his right knee against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 20 last season.
“In some really positive news, Andy Otten has been given the all-clear by the surgeon,” Noble said.
“It looks like we’re about a month away from him being able to play his first game of 2015. It’s great news.
“Andy’s done a lot of hard work and we’re really excited that, if we can get him through the next month of training, we’ll get him back into our SANFL team pretty soon.”
The Crows will have an open training session at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday, June 17, from approximately 9:00am for 45 minutes.
Injury list as of Monday, June 15
Ricky Henderson (back) – test
Sam Shaw (concussion) – test
Luke Lowden (Achilles) – test
Jake Lever (ankle) – 1-2 weeks
Sam Kerridge (ankle) – 2-4 weeks
Andy Otten (knee) – 4 weeks
Mitch Grigg (ankle) – TBA
Harry Dear (shoulder) – TBA
Matthew Jaensch (knee) – season
Brent Reilly (fractured skull) – retired
