ADELAIDE expects star midfielders Scott Thompson and Patrick Dangerfield to both be fit to play in Friday night’s blockbuster against Hawthorn.
Dangerfield suffered a knock to his knee and Thompson to the back of his leg during the club's percentage-boosting win over Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.
The pair both trained on Monday along with defenders Ben Rutten (concussion) and Daniel Talia (corked buttock), who were also injured in the win.
Upsetting the Hawks at Adelaide Oval on Friday night would see the Crows sneak into the top eight if either Gold Coast or North Melbourne lost.
The Hawks aren't without their own selection issues either, with Brad Sewell injuring his hamstring and defender Brian Lake to face the Tribunal on a misconduct charge.
Crows defender Ricky Henderson said the reigning premiers were an adaptable unit that would still prove a huge test even when depleted.
"It's a huge contest for us obviously on a Friday night … it's going to be a tough game but one we're really looking forward to," Henderson said.
"We just like to test ourselves against the best opponent out there and they're probably that at the minute.
"They've got a lot of injuries but then they've got a lot of players that can come in and do the roles that those players play anyway.
"If we lose (on Friday night) then we start slipping down the ladder pretty quickly and finals might be out of the question if we lose too many."
Adelaide's 68-point win over the Giants on Saturday was Henderson's first game back in the senior side after breaking his leg at training in February.
The 25-year-old had a plate inserted at the ankle following the incident and said he still hadn’t overcome the mental scars associated with such a horrific injury.
Henderson said he was "blowing pretty hard" late in the Crows' win but that he had pulled up well.
"It's the first time I've really tested my ankle out in a full AFL game so I was a little bit nervous going into the game but getting through it, I was really happy with that," he said.
"When I first did it I thought it was a clean break of both the bones so I thought it was my season over.
"I was still really nervous coming back to training and even my first couple of games in the SANFL I was really wary of getting tackled from behind.
"So we did a lot of training with that of people tackling me – very controlled – just so I could get used to it again.
"It still does run through your head but you've just got to deal with it as best you can."
