Former Swans defender Jordan Dawson will not be in the Adelaide side that is set to face arch-enemies Port Adelaide in their AAMI Community Series matchup this week.
The 24-year-old journeyed back to his home state of South Australia during trade period last year, electing to join Matthew Nicks' West Lakes project in a bid to return the Crows to the promised land.
Disappointingly, however, Dawson is set for a stint on the sidelines prior to his side's Round 1 clash against the Lions, with a calf soreness complaint set to stunt his final weeks of pre-season.
The Crows High Performance Manager Darren Burgess has revealed that the 24-year-old is on a decreased training load and will therefore sit out the clash on Saturday.
"Ideally, Jordan would have been able to get a game under his belt this weekend but our eye is on round one and making sure he is right to go," Burgess said to the club's website.
"He has done the work over pre-season and has put himself in a good position so we don't expect this setback to be significant."
Dawson was also unable to partake in the club's unofficial practice match against the Lions last Saturday, with the Crows going down by 89 points on the Gold Coast in a rough day for Nicks.
Meanwhile, forward Shane McAdam will join Dawson on the sidelines for this weekend's action after suffering adductor soreness.
The Crows remain hopeful McAdam will be fit in time for the club's season opener on March 20.
In terms of teammates who are also on the comeback trail, both Paul Seedsman (concussion) and Lachlan Murphy (neck) are making steady progress with training loads after both having interrupted pre-seasons.
Defender Wayne Milera is set to return to the side over the weekend after missing the entirety of 2021 with a knee injury, whilst prospective forward Elliott Himmelberg will also be available however will likely feature at SANFL level.
After making progress in 2021, Adelaide are hopeful that they will be able to take more steps in 2022 after a good off-season of recruitment.
Enigmatic small forward Josh Rachele was taken at Pick 6 at the National Draft and impressed against the Lions last Saturday, booting three majors and laying a marker down for Crows fans to be excited by.
Midfielders Jake Soligo and Zac Taylor were both selected in the second and third rounds of proceedings, with the club's midfield stocks now very much stacked considering the existing personnel at West Lakes.
Saturday's Showdown at Richmond Oval will be the final non-competitive match before the launch of the much anticipated season 2022 with the Crows' opening round fixture being against the Dockers at Adelaide Oval.
