The crowd favourite underwent successful surgery on his knee early last week and, accompanied by his mother, travelled back to his home town after the operation.
Crows coach Brenton Sanderson said that while Walker would remain at home before commencing his rehabilitation at some point in the next month, he was still in contact with the star forward.
Sanderson said the club would respect Walker's privacy as he battled to come to grips with having to spend at least 12 months on the sidelines.
"We keep talking to him obviously – it's hard to shut him up even when he's in Broken Hill," Sanderson joked.
"We'll just leave him alone for a little while now, he's one that ebbs and flows coming back in rehab – he has good days and bad days."
The operation to Walker's knee was more complex than the average knee reconstruction because as well as a ruptured ACL, the 23-year-old also had a torn lateral collateral ligament.
The ACL was repaired using a graft from the star's hamstring, but the collateral lateral ligament was fixed using the tendon of a deceased person.
"It was a pretty serious injury, talking to the surgeon and listening to the condition that his knee was in… similar to a car crash," he said.
"We won't try and rush him back, we'll give him enough time to repair himself.
"The surgeon said there's no reason why he can't get back and his knee be just as strong as it was prior to the injury."
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
