Adelaide have denied any suggestion they rushed skipper Chelsea Randall back from injury for the Crows' highly-anticipated clash against Melbourne in Round 4.
Randall was an inclusion into senior coach Matt Clarke's side for the fixture at Norwood Oval, having missed the Round 3 victory over the Eagles with a hamstring issue.
The veteran Crow suffered further damage to her right hamstring during the second quarter of the weekend's 14-point win over the Demons, placing queries over Randall's initial selection and fitness.
Adelaide had lost Stevie-Lee Thompson, Danielle Ponter and Justine Mules to health and protocols prior to Saturday's match, leaving Clarke to rely on his depth, which was aided by Randall's return.
Despite the star's latest setback, the Crows have ruled out any theory that Randall didn't undergo the needed process before getting the green light to play.
"It was actually really disappointing because last week she was really flying on the track as Randall does," Adelaide onballer Ebony Marinoff told media this week. "She definitely did all the right things.
"They (medicos) will do all the right things but potentially just be a little bit more cautious given the fact she ticked all the boxes (last week) and still tweaked it a little bit.
"Because she ticked all the boxes to play, that would be really silly not to play your captain when she is capable of playing, so I don't think there's any reason that she shouldn't have played."
Randall is now set to miss her side's Round 5 trip to Ikon Park to face Carlton, who are looking to redeem themselves this week after their five-goal loss to North Melbourne.
“She tested really well before the game, however a game is different to testing,” Crows' AFLW football boss Phil Harper told AFC Media.
“She’ll probably be out for at least a couple of weeks but we don’t know the full extent yet.
“Chelsea definitely won’t be playing this week and possibly longer.
“We will know more once the results of her scan are known.”
The Crows' defensive contingent will be hoping to continue their stellar start to the season, having only conceded 63 points across the opening month of the year.
Adelaide are currently placed atop the AFLW ladder give their unbeaten start, with Fremantle the only other side to have conjured four wins from as many games this year.
