UNLUCKY Adelaide forward Trent Hentschel will see a specialist on Thursday, where it's likely he'll be told yet another operation is required on his troublesome right knee.

Swelling forced Hentschel from the ground in the first quarter of last weekend's clash with Melbourne and he took no further part in the game.

The 27-year-old experienced similar knee swelling in the Crows' loss to St Kilda in round two of last season.

On that occasion, he was sent in for surgery and spent 12 weeks on the sidelines.

Adelaide physical performance manager Stephen Schwerdt said it was possible Hentschel would need a similar corrective procedure this time, too.

"Trent's knee has settled down OK, but not to the extent where he's been able to train," Schwerdt told afl.com.au.

"He's had the same thing (swelling) a couple of times in the past, so he knew pretty well straight away what was going on when it started swelling up on Sunday.

"The surgery he had last time helped him and got him back playing. That seems to be the most logical solution at the moment, but we won't know until he sees the specialist."

Hentschel has endured a nightmare rehabilitation since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and dislocating his kneecap in a crunching tackle from Port Adelaide's Matt Thomas in round 21, 2006.

He spent two years on the sidelines recovering from the horrific injury - more commonly seen in car-crash victims than footballers - before making his AFL comeback against Collingwood in round one, 2009.

Hentschel signed a one-year contract extension in October and appeared set for a big 2010 after completing his first full pre-season since the injury, but instead faces more uncertainty.

Schwerdt was at a loss to explain why Hentschel's knee swelled when it did and said it was a concern his knee was still causing him grief.

"Trent's knee gets back to 100 per cent for him to be able to play and perform, that's not the issue," he said.

"[The issue] is just whether his knee can tolerate the workload over an extended period of time.

"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.

"Now the main issue is that this (the swelling) doesn't happen on an ongoing basis because it obviously sets him back a little while."

Hentschel has shown remarkable resilience throughout the four-year ordeal and Schwerdt said he was handling the latest setback well.

"It's obviously really disappointing for Trent because no one is more dedicated to looking after himself," he said.

"He's handling it as well as you could expect given that it's not good news for him and he's going to miss another game with his knee because it's an issue he's had for a long time."