ADELAIDE'S injury-troubled half-back Wayne Milera is set to make his comeback after almost a year on the sidelines.
Milera is expected to feature when the Crows host St Kilda on Sunday in what will be the 27-year-old's first game since March 29 last year.
Milera ruptured the patella tendon in his right knee in the round three clash against Fremantle.
He suffered the same injury in 2021 and missed the entire season, and in 2020 played only two games when fracturing a foot which ruled him out for the rest of that year.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks says Milera, nicknamed 'Junior', is primed for his comeback provided he emerges unscathed through training leading into Sunday's Adelaide Oval fixture.
"We'd love to play 'Junior', we want to get him out there on a ground he has played a lot of his footy," Nicks told reporters on Thursday.
"There's no doubt he's up to the level. He's an extremely talented player and if he's fit and raring to go, he plays."
Milera's return puts a further squeeze on spots in Adelaide's season-opener, with recruits Alex Neal-Bullen (ex-Melbourne) and former Greater Western Sydney duo Isaac Cumming and James Peatling certain selections.
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"There's a healthy competition at the moment for spots, guys know there's going to be some that are a little bit hard done by to miss out," Nicks said.
The Crows coach stopped short of declaring the club's highly-rated No.4 draft pick Sid Draper would make his debut against the Saints.
"It's important that we remember round one is not the be-all and end-all," Nicks said.
"The quicker you can get games into players the better, the more they experience ... there are things we know he's going to learn from being out there and amongst it.
"A young guy coming in, the experience of playing on a big stage for the first time, a sub role might be appropriate. Or do you just let him loose and let him go ... they're decisions we haven't locked in yet."
