ADELAIDE forward Riley Thilthorpe will miss the start of the season due to a knee injury sustained in his side's AAMI Community Series thumping of West Coast.
Thilthorpe landed awkwardly in a marking contest at Richmond Oval on Saturday, then sat on the ground momentarily before hobbling off, assisted by a medico.
He was sent for scans on Sunday, which showed damage to the meniscus in his left knee.
Thilthorpe will consult with specialists in the coming days before the club can put a timeline on his return.
"Sometimes your heart is in your mouth. Today was one of those moments," Crows coach Matthew Nicks said post-match.
"But we have got a squad of players too. Riley is really important to what we're doing and he's a great player, but we've got others.
"And that's part of pre-season. We train on the rivet, we go hard.
"That's how we've trained right throughout, so we've been pushing the envelope, let alone playing games like this.
"And we'll continue to do that. That's how we work, that's how we believe we play our best footy."
Adelaide will play their round one match at the Gold Coast on March 16 before games against Geelong, Fremantle and Melbourne.
Thilthorpe has been the standout performer at West Lakes in his fourth pre-season and appeared primed for a breakout year after adding the size needed to take on key defenders and growing in confidence as a result.
