IT MAY be fifth on the ladder with a 4-2 record, but a hamstring crisis is threatening to derail Adelaide’s season.
Taylor Walker is the latest victim, the captain set to undergo scans early in the week after he sat out the second half of the Crows' big round six win over Gold Coast with what the club described as "hamstring awareness".
Walker is the seventh Crow to sustain a hamstring injury in 2018, following Eddie Betts, Kyle Cheney, Sam Gibson, Kyle Hartigan, Matt Crouch and Lachlan Murphy.
David Mackay is also in doubt for the Crows' upcoming clash with Carlton, finishing the game on the bench after reporting soreness in his hip and glute.
Cross-town rival Port Adelaide was also struck by a key hamstring injury, with gun forward Chad Wingard to be sidelined indefinitely after he limped from the field following a mark and goal in the final quarter.
Wingard has battled troublesome hamstrings throughout his seven-year career.
Collingwood’s loss to Richmond was compounded by injury concerns to Ben Reid, James Aish and Brayden Maynard.
Reid appears unlikely to venture north to tackle the Lions on Sunday at the Gabba, with Magpies coach Nathan Buckley revealing the injury-plagued tall's issue is Achilles-related.
Aish hurt a knee in a marking contest soon after half-time. He left the field and never returned.
Maynard rolled his right ankle, but returned after spending some time in the rooms.
Michael Walters is almost certain to be sidelined for some time, with Dockers coach Ross Lyon saying the Fremantle livewire probably has a low-grade medial strain to his left knee (the same leg he injured when suffering a season-ending posterior cruciate ligament issue in round 18 last year).
Walters hobbled from the ground and went straight down to the rooms during the first quarter of the Western Derby.
- Melbourne will keep a close eye on Jesse Hogan after the key forward rolled his right ankle in a marking contest in the third quarter against Essendon. Hogan went into the rooms before returning to play out the match.
- First-year Blue Paddy Dow had his left knee assessed on the boundary in the last term against the Western Bulldogs but returned to the field.
- Geelong looks set to be without George Horlin-Smith when it hosts Greater Western Sydney on Friday night, after the midfielder sat out the second half of the Cats’ loss to Sydney because of concussion.
- Sydney star Isaac Heeney copped a knee to his lower back/hip region in the third term, but should be available when the Swans welcome North Melbourne to the SCG on Saturday night.
- Young GWS forward Zac Langdon, who injured his right knee in the second quarter on Saturday and took no further part in the game, may have to wait a bit longer for his first taste of Friday night football.
- Brisbane captain Dayne Beams should be fine, despite copping a knock to the head against the Giants. Teammate Jarrod Berry, who limped off with an ankle injury midway through the last quarter after a heavy tackle on the wing, is likely to be assessed.
- Hawthorn’s Ben McEvoy spent much of the final quarter on the bench in Launceston against St Kilda, but coach Alastair Clarkson said the big man was being rested.
- Saints ruckman Tom Hickey hurt himself while tackling Tom Mitchell at the start of the second quarter, then hit the ground hard in a marking contest, but played out the game.
- Suns defender Rory Thompson played out the game against the Crows after rolling his ankle in the opening term.
- Fremantle will monitor Alex Pearce, who came from the field in the first quarter for treatment on his lower right leg, but returned after being strapped. And Luke Ryan, who came off early in the last quarter with an apparent wrist injury, will also be looked at.
