Adelaide defender Jordon Butts has failed to make the trip west, with the club ruling him out of the clash against Fremantle.
Butts - who has become a key cog in Mathew Nicks' backline - suffered a rolled ankle in the loss to Geelong last weekend and was unable to prove his fitness on Thursday.
The 24-year-old participated in all the training sessions throughout the week but the Crows are not willing to take the risk.
The Club can confirm some early selection news, regarding a key defender.#weflyasone
— Kuwarna (@Adelaide_FC) March 28, 2024
Crows High-Performance Manager Darren Burgess said a no-risk policy would be taken with Butts, given his importance to the team's structure.
“We did a fitness test on him this morning and he didn't quite come up,” Burgess said.
“He came out to training Wednesday, but couldn't quite get through all of training and he couldn't quite get through this morning.
“We are confident that he will come up next week but we didn't want to take a risk this week.”
Butts joins fellow talls Nick Murray (knee) and Riley Thilthorpe (knee) on the sidelines as Nicks will need to consider a unique approach for the Dockers.
Geelong's Tom Hawkins got ahold of the undermanned Adelaide defence, who will look to inexperienced pairing Mark Keane and Max Michalanney to combat what Fremantle throws at them.
Recruit Chris Burgess could also be deployed down back to quell the twinned influence of Jye Amiss and Matt Taberner.
Adelaide will release its Round 3 team on Thursday at 6.20 pm (AEST).
