IT IS "far too early" to know whether Brent Reilly will ever play football again after the Adelaide defender underwent emergency surgery for a fractured skull on Monday afternoon.
Reilly was involved in an innocuous collision at training where he was struck by a player leading towards him.
He was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he remains in intensive care.
The collision caused a depressed fracture in the left side of Reilly's skull, leaving several breaks and requiring the insertion of a steel plate to stabilise the area.
Adelaide's club doctor Andrew Potter said on Tuesday morning the surgery was completed without complication, and that although Reilly was now heavily sedated, he had spoken to his family.
His parents flew to Adelaide from Melbourne shortly after the incident.
With the club's attention firmly focused on the 31-year-old's immediate health, Dr Potter said it was too soon to speculate about his playing career.
"I don't think I can answer [whether he'll play again].
"It's far too early … it's less than 24 hours after the surgery.
"As always with any surgical intervention there are some things that occur that are a normal part of the recovery, and we really have to wait until all of that settles down and see how Brent is progressing over the next week or so or even longer before we answer that question.
"He's breathing by himself, his condition hasn't deteriorated overnight – it's remained stable and he's communicated with his wife and family this morning and last night."
Several members of Adelaide's leadership group were able to visit their teammate on Monday evening and the entire playing group was back training at Max Basheer Reserve on Tuesday morning.
Reilly will be monitored in intensive care over the next few days as is standard for such an injury.
Dr Potter said he had never before seen in football the type of skull fracture Reilly sustained.
"It's very unusual in football; fractured skulls are a well known complication of all sorts of things particularly high impact activities
"In sport we don't see it too often; occasionally in the high-speed activities like downhill skiing and motor racing."
