Van Berlo ruptured his Achilles at training on Monday in a freak accident where he was struck on the back of the heel by a weighted training sled.
The sled cut into his Achilles and while it seemed a superficial wound was the extent of the injury, surgical exploration revealed a full rupture.
Potter said that although 27-year-old faced lengthy rehabilitation, he could return to the Crows' side late in the season.
"If he progresses really well then I think this year's certainly a goal – I wouldn't put a line through this year at all," Potter said on Tuesday morning.
"This year's realistic, we keep an open mind, we like to be very positive and we give him a goal to aim for.
"He'll be in some sort of immobilizing device for between two and three months, then he’ll start moving with some low-impact type activities and then we expect him to be able to get back to full football training around about six months."
With the risk of re-rupturing the Achilles a concern, Potter said van Berlo's rehabilitation would be slow and calculated.
"One of the reasons why we go reasonably slowly with his rehab is the risk of re-rupture... the re-rupture rate can be anything from one per cent to 10 per cent," he said.
"The most important thing is to go slowly and make sure that we get good strength and good healing in the calf muscle so we don't get a re-rupture.
"That could be disastrous."
Hawthorn forward Jarryd Roughead ruptured his Achilles in 2011 as did Richmond's Nathan Foley in 2012 and North Melbourne's Andrew Swallow last year.
Despite being a rare form of injury, Potter said Adelaide had the expertise on its books to handle van Berlo's recovery without seeking outside advice.
"The medical staff and physio staff are all experienced enough and qualified enough to be able to deal with that," he said.
Van Berlo's extended absence brings up the possibility of the club installing a new captain; an interim match-day skipper would be needed at the very least.
With vice-captain Scott Thompson no certainty for early season games after hip surgery, superstar midfielder Patrick Dangerfield looms an obvious choice.
It is understood van Berlo's injury won't change the club’s 2014 leadership group though, which it will announce in the next few weeks.
His injury leaves an obvious hole in Adelaide's midfield, with the emerging Brodie Smith likely to see increased game time in order to pick up the slack.
Smith blitzed the side's time trial early last week and was set for a breakout 2013 before a broken collarbone suffered late in the pre-season set him back.
The 22-year-old is a $374,500 midfielder in AFL Fantasy, up $45,000 from 2013.
Twitter: @AFL_Harry
