Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto will wear a “moon boot” for at least a week to protect his injured ankle.

The decision to immobilise the foot was made after his latest scan confirmed the ligament strain was more severe than initially hoped.

Crows physical performance manager Stephen Schwerdt said: “It is obviously disappointing timing for Mark and the club but it will give him the best chance of playing this month.”

Crows midfielder Simon Goodwin said Ricciuto's main goal is to get his ankle right.

"He's obviously dissapointed that it could be another two weeks," Goodwin said. "You don't want injuries at any stage of the year, and obviously as you get older you don't want them. Mark has had a lot of injuries over the last couple of seasons, I know he wants to play more footy, he's excited about the challenge and now he just wants to get his ankle right in the next couple of weeks and we'll see what happens from there."