ADELAIDE forward Josh Jenkins has avoided a torn ACL, but appears he will still spend a significant amount of time on the sidelines after hyperextending his knee in Thursday night's win over Richmond.
The Crows were counting the cost of their 33-point victory over the Tigers at Adelaide Oval, with Jenkins, defenders Daniel Talia (quad) and Jake Kelly (calf), and forward Lachlan Murphy (teeth) all failing to finish the game.
CROWS UP TO FOURTH Full match details and stats
With less than a minute remaining, Jenkins chased a loose ball and kicked it out of the air only for his right foot to plant in the ground.
As the match finished, he remained on the ground for several minutes before a stretcher took him from the field.
It was a bittersweet night for Jenkins, who was one of the best on the ground with four goals.
Jenkins competes, crumbs and snaps his way to his fourth #AFLCrowsTigers pic.twitter.com/UvTWvRlNXV
— AFL (@AFL) June 13, 2019
Jenkins was optimistic there was no damage to his ACL.
"Early signs are that I have escaped the worst. (The) worst-case scenario looks to be out of the question," Jenkins told Channel Seven after the game.
"I saw (Eddie Betts) out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't be buggered to bend over and pick the ball up and I just tried to volley it out of the air.
"It didn't quite come off, so I might put that one away for future."
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Jenkins will have scans on Friday.
It's a cruel blow for the 30-year-old, who has kicked nine goals in his past three games after he spent six weeks out of the side in the SANFL.
"He was influential on the game," Crows coach Don Pyke said.
"He had seven shots at goal and he was probably the dominant forward on the ground.
"Fingers crossed it's not too bad and we can get him back out there as soon as possible."
Despite being short-handed, and coming off a five-day break, the Crows ran out the game the stronger and kicked the last five goals of the match.
Eddie Betts come on now!! You surely can't keep doing this kind of stuff! #AFLCrowsTigers pic.twitter.com/gJcGsAsh3B
— AFL (@AFL) June 13, 2019
"It shows the resilience of the group and the want when the game is up for grabs," Pyke said.
"In the last couple of weeks, our guys have found another gear and against Melbourne in Darwin, when we were down by 30-odd points, we kept coming and coming and managed to get a win.
"We've set ourselves up for the last half of the year."
Talia and Kelly will have scans on Friday on their injuries, while Murphy has already had treatment after three of his front teeth were dislodged following a stray elbow from skipper Taylor Walker.
The Crows are now fourth on the ladder with an 8-5 win-loss record going into their mid-season bye.
Daniel Talia has been iced up on the bench. #AFLCrowsTigers pic.twitter.com/H06DpaXi6d
— AFL (@AFL) June 13, 2019