ADELAIDE'S premier midfielder Rory Sloane is like a "caged animal" in his rehabilitation from a fractured eye socket, Crows coach Don Pyke says.

Sloane resumed running on Thursday but will enter the premiership season without any pre-season matches.

"He has been like a bit of a caged animal to be honest for the last two weeks," Pyke told reporters on Thursday.

"He loves his footy and he loves being out there with the boys so it's good to see him back out there."

Sloane is one of four top-shelf Crows not to play a pre-season game because of injuries.

Fellow midfielders Scott Thompson (shoulder), Brad Crouch (hamstring) and defender Jake Lever (hamstring) are also racing time to press for selection for Adelaide's premiership season opener against Greater Western Sydney on March 26.

Pyke said the quartet would all be "there or thereabouts" for round one.

"Then it will really become an assessment about how the rest of those guys have gone through pre-season, the totality of their pre-season, as to how many we may wish to carry into round one," Pyke said.

"The reality would be we would back in the guys who have done the work and are prepared and ... are now at a level performing well.

"Our build has always been around playing round one. Ideal world, they play some games, but that is not what is presented.

"So those guys will be there or thereabouts but it's probably more the focus now to make sure they're ready to play for their whole season.

"There is often a fascination with round one ... we are taking a big picture view on that and making that we want our best players available for long periods of time through the season."

Adelaide hosts the Brisbane Lions on Saturday in its final pre-season game before the premiership season.