ADELAIDE full-back Ben Rutten will miss most of the club's NAB Cup campaign after undergoing minor knee surgery on Tuesday night.

The arthroscopy will sideline the 25-year-old for three to four weeks but he is expected to resume running in a fortnight.

Adelaide football manager John Reid said the surgery is necessary to have Rutten fully fit for the 2009 premiership season.

"Benny had a little bit of trouble with the knee last year. He was going along all right [during the pre-season] and we thought it was fine, but it’s flared up a bit again," Reid said.

"We thought it was best for him to go in [for surgery] and have the knee cleaned up."

"It’s only a minor [setback] and we expect him to back in three or four weeks."

All-Australian in 2005, Rutten missed just one game last year with a back strain.

Adelaide meets Geelong at Telstra Dome on Saturday night and will name its 29-man squad on Thursday afternoon.

A youthful Crows side lost to the Indigenous All-Stars by 54 points in Darwin on February 7.