"THE BOYS will get it done".
And with that, recovering Adelaide star Rory Sloane gave his seal of approval to the minor premiers beating Greater Western Sydney in next Thursday night's qualifying final, with or without him on the field.
Sloane left Calvary Wakefield Hospital on Wednesday afternoon after having surgery to remove his appendix on Tuesday night.
A nine-day turnaround to face the Giants is going to be tight, but Sloane had full confidence in his teammates if the medical advice is for him to watch the game on the sidelines.
"I'm honestly not sure, it will all depend on how the week pans out," Sloane told reporters on Wednesday.
"Whether I play or don't play, it won't matter.
"Our team has never been reliant on any one person in particular.
"It doesn't matter for our team; the boys will get it done."
"Gutted"about the last couple of days
— Rory Sloane (@rorysloane9) August 30, 2017
One thing I can stomach is being back home with my girls
Thanks to everyone for all their kind words pic.twitter.com/d4lnSKF8WP
Crows teammate Eddie Betts had his appendix removed earlier in the season, missing one game before returning to face Port Adelaide in the round 20 Showdown 13 days after surgery.
Betts and Sloane both had keyhole surgery through the belly button.
But whereas Betts's appendix had burst, Sloane was admitted to hospital before it got to that stage – he was experiencing severe pain before being advised by the Crows' doctor to have it checked out.
"(I feel) not too bad, the surgery was last night and all went really well," Sloane said.
"The surgeon was really happy with it.
"I'm starting to feel all right and I can walk around again.
"I'll rest up for a couple of days and then I'll start moving around more and more as the week goes on."
Sloane is the Crows' reigning club champion and was the All Australian vice-captain in 2016.
The tenacious midfielder has had another outstanding season to help the Crows claim their first minor premiership since 2005.
Watch Rory Sloane's full post-surgery interview. pic.twitter.com/5yxcFxlDmY
— AFL (@AFL) August 30, 2017
Betts, who joked "all the boys are staying away from me" because appendicitis was apparently "contagious", said running would be Sloane's main issue.
"He's really tough Rory, mentally tough as well. My biggest concern is the running part. I hope he'll get up and running earlier than I did. I sat on the couch for a week and did nothing," Betts said.
The stitches caused Betts pain and restricted his training.
"You lose that fitness, especially that game fitness. When I tried to run it hurt, and I couldn't really run," Betts said.
"Once I got through the first stage, I was OK, so I think he needs to get through the first stage and hopefully they can speed that up."