Adelaide’s match committee will be buoyed by an almost injury-free list heading into Round One of 2020.
Riley Knight is the only Crows player unavailable for selection this weekend after recovering from recent Achilles surgery.
Crows Head of Science and Medicine Steve Saunders said Knight is progressing well post-surgery.
“A week and a half ago, Riley underwent minor surgery to debride tissue between the Achilles tendon and the heel bone,” Saunders said.
“The tissue was becoming impinged and causing irritation.
“The surgery went well, with Riley now completing walking and running progressions. He has commenced his strength program and we expect him to return to play in three to four weeks.”
Defender Tom Doedee, who has spent the last 12 months rehabilitating from an ACL rupture in Round One 2019, would have played this weekend if there were still SANFL trial matches scheduled.
“Tom has a good volume of work under his belt now,” Saunders said.
“The main goal with Tom over the next couple of weeks is to increase the amount of game time or match simulation time he gets to prepare him to compete at the AFL level.
“We have a plan in place for that. It is being tested at the moment with changes in AFL and SANFL scheduling, so we are working through best options for Tom.
“He’s obviously very close to being ready to play AFL, we just need a little more high-end game prep under his belt.”
Saunders is pleased with the overall health of the list, particularly players such as Andrew McPherson.
“Importantly, the health of the list has been good with a large proportion of the playing group completing a very high percentage of the pre-season,” he said.
“We’ve been especially happy with the progress Andrew McPherson has made over this pre-season – he’s hit all targets coming into the beginning of this season and been looking great on the training track.
“We are pleased with how Andrew is presenting from both a medical and performance point of view.”
Adelaide is scheduled to take on Sydney in their Round One clash on Saturday afternoon, with the match being broadcast live on Channel 7 Adelaide from 4pm.
Injury list as of Wednesday, March 18
Riley Knight (Achilles) – 3-4 weeks
