ADELAIDE star Rory Sloane expects to be right to face Greater Western Sydney in the Crows' qualifying final after having surgery to remove his appendix.
Sloane will have nine days to recovery ahead of next Thursday night's clash with the Giants at Adelaide Oval.
"His mentality, even speaking to him this morning, is he's not considering not playing, which I think is always a positive," Crows coach Don Pyke told reporters on Wednesday.
"He's in good spirits and the expectation is he'll be fine."
Sloane had emergency surgery on Tuesday and was expected to be released from hospital on Wednesday.
Pyke said it was too early to guarantee whether Sloane would be cleared to play.
"The advice I've got is we'll see how he recovers and we'll be guided a fair bit by both the medicos and by Rory," Pyke said.
"He's got to be comfortable out of the surgery and the advice has to be he's not going to be at any risk … playing, but also preparing to play, because he will need to do some things to get ready for next Thursday night.
"We'll assess all that, (but) it's too early to tell."
Sloane is the second Crows player to have appendicitis this season.
Forward Eddie Betts underwent surgery to remove his appendix on July 23, returning to play 13 days later against Port Adelaide.
Crows captain Taylor Walker said the players were taking the surprise news in their stride.
"The beauty of our group is we expect the unexpected, and when it arises, we jump the hurdle and keep going," Walker said.
"We had a discussion yesterday – is it the water down at West Lakes or what is it?
"I don't think too many clubs would have two in a year, but it is what it is."
Sloane's health overshadowed another major announcement on Tuesday – promising forward Mitch McGovern spurning a lucrative offer from Fremantle to re-sign with the Crows for the next three years.
"It's great to have him on board," Pyke said.
"I don't look at it as a distraction for the final, I'm now looking at more on the basis we've secured a player that we value and want to stay at the club and we've been able to finalise that.
"Timing wise, it's nice that it's done, but we're not counting days and working on contracts, we're working on finals."
Walker will return from a toe injury to face the Giants, while key defender Daniel Talia (ankle) is also on the mend.
"He's progressing really well," Pyke said.
"Minor ankle sprain, he was able to do some running over the weekend and yesterday, he shouldn't be a problem at all."
Walker and key defender Alex Keath (concussion) jogged laps and did some sprints at Wednesday's open training session at Adelaide Oval.
Talia also trained away from the main group, focusing on agility with some short and sharp ball work.
