ADELAIDE will be sweating on the fitness of captain Taylor Walker heading into its round one clash with premiership favourite Greater Western Sydney.
Already with All Australian vice-captain Rory Sloane, Scott Thompson, Brad Crouch and Jake Lever racing the clock, the Crows now have a hamstring injury with their inspirational leader to deal with.
Walker came off the ground in the late stages of the third quarter of his side's 39-win against the Brisbane Lions in the JLT Community Series at Hickinbotham Oval on Saturday.
"Tex (Walker) came off at the end, he's got a little bit of hamstring tightness that we will get looked at," Crows coach Don Pyke said.
"We'll see what that looks like in the coming days."
The powerful forward was dominant before he left the ground with 15 possessions, 10 marks and three goals.
It's the last news the Crows need as they aim to get their season off to a flyer against one of the most formidable sides in the competition.
Sloane (fractured eye socket), Thompson (shoulder) and Crouch (hamstring) didn't play any games in the pre-season.
Sloane is the most likely of the trio to be fit for the start of the season.
"It's probably too early to tell at this stage, we're still 15 days away, there's a bit of work to be done for those guys and boxes to tick to get them ready to go," Pyke said.
"We'll throw that around in the next couple of weeks and make sure the side we pick for round one is fit and ready to go.
"Not just to play, but to perform at the level we want."
Lever is considered a strong chance to overcome his hamstring injury and reclaim his place in the Crows' backline.
Fringe midfielder Riley Knight was a late scratching for Saturday's game with an Achilles injury.
Knight missed the Crows' opening game of the pre-season competition two weeks ago against Richmond, but played in the side's six-point win against Geelong last week.
"That's one we will assess and he's hoping to be back into training next week," Pyke said.
"Hopefully it's just a minor setback for him."
Defender Kyle Cheney made his return from a groin injury for the Crows in a SANFL trial at Football Park.
Cheney faces pressure to retain his spot in the Crows' side from Andy Otten, who was again impressive in his bid to play his first AFL game in three years.
