Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has revealed that key forward Darcy Fogarty will not make the trip to Perth to take on Fremantle on Anzac Day.
Forgarty copped a heavy knock to the shoulder in the victory over GWS in Round 6, and soldiered on in obvious discomfort. It was confirmed that he suffered a sternoclavicular joint sprain in his shoulder, but no return timeline was given.
Nicks and the medical staff gave the 25-year-old every chance to feature against the Dockers, but have taken the cautious approach.
"(Darcy Fogarty) won't (make the trip to Perth), unfortunately, we thought he might have been a chance, being a country boy and quite a tough young man," Nicks said, according to the club.
"But SC (sternoclavicular) joints are quite painful and it might take a week or two, we'll have to keep an eye on how it recovers.
"We didn't do a test on him, we got to a point where he got moving and he felt pretty good moving around, but if you watch the vision back there was an instance where he went for a kick and it hurt more than a bump.
"There's just a few things he needs to work with, and this one might just take a bit of time."
Friday's clash against the Dockers will be the first time the three-pronged attack of Fogarty, Riley Thilthorpe and Taylor Walker won't take the field, with utility Dan Curtin expected to be handed extra responsibility.
"Our plan is to go in with a similar forward line. Dan (Curtin) is a young kid we are asking now to step up and play a slightly different role and be more of a target,โ Nicks said.
"He's played that role a bit, but probably not as much as we would like to see this weekend, so it will be a good challenge for him.
"Dan is a big kid that enjoys the contest, so he will slot into a role Darcy has been playing for us, and it's an important one.โ
Josh Rachele is also in line to come into the senior side, but will be given Thursday's captain's run to prove his fitness.
Rachele is coming off broken ribs in Round 3 against North Melbourne, but has been progressing at a strong rate.
The 22-year-old has maintained his fitness but ramped up his preparations with contact training in the past week, with Nicks set to make a call by 5pm (AEST) on Thursday.
"We are confident with Josh (Rachele), he's feeling fantastic," Nicks said.
"We'll do a light run today and he'll do a little bit more just to get moving and make sure he's okay, he'll run into a couple of bags.
"But he's really confident, I'm really confident in him as well, and that will be a decision we'll make together."
