Adelaide midfielder Rory Laird remains no certainty of returning from a shoulder injury for Saturday's Showdown against Port Adelaide, however the Crows are confident their three-time best and fairest winner will suit up in Round 20.
Laird was ruled out of last Sunday's trip to face Melbourne at the MCG following a shoulder injury sustained the week prior against GWS.
While seen as a chance to face the Demons, Laird wasn't risked for the encounter and now faces further tests in the coming days to prove his fitness for a blockbuster affair against the Power.
The Crows are expecting Laird to return for the match, with the midfielder having ticked every required box so far in his recovery.
โAt a pinch he could have played last week, he had a fair bit of bruising around that shoulder and swelling that wouldn't disappear, so that restricted his range of movement,โ Adelaide performance boss Darren Burgess said in a club injury update.
โHe's got through everything we needed him to over the weekend and is running around really well, he will take part in most of training tomorrow and we anticipate him being available on Saturday.โ
Laird's potential return will come at a critical time for Adelaide, who see their finals chances slipping with five rounds remaining in the season.
The Crows will be without key pair Izak Rankine (hamstring) and Nick Murray (knee) for this weekend, with the latter having his year brought to a close due to a season-ending ACL injury.
Rankine will require up to four weeks in recovery in what has been another blow to Matthew Nicks' September plans.
The Crows will be hoping to repeat their Showdown efforts from earlier in the season when they claimed a 31-point victory in Round 3.
Adelaide and Port Adelaide will clash at Adelaide Oval at 7:10pm local time on Saturday night.
