Richard Douglas and Mitch McGovern expected to be fit to play Giants in Canberra
ADELAIDE is poised to field its strongest team for the season as the injury curse lifts with Richard Douglas and Mitch McGovern tipped to return this weekend.
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ADELAIDE veteran Richard Douglas and high-flying forward Mitch McGovern are both expected to return from injury as the Crows will have one of their most difficult selection meetings ahead of the match against Greater Western Sydney in Canberra on Saturday.
The inclusions of Douglas and McGovern would mean the Crows could field their strongest team for the season with Daniel Talia and Riley Knight tipped to recover from respective niggly injuries sustained in Showdown 45.
Fitness coach Matt Hass said Douglas and McGovern had given every indication they will be fit to play.
“’Dougy’ was a fraction short last week getting up from his ankle injury,” Hass said. “He’s progressed nicely this week, he’ll have the main session on Wednesday.
“All things going well, we expect him to be available this weekend.
“Mitch, with the AC joint, came close.
“It was just a little bit sore through the main training session, he was inhibited with a few of his movements.
“Again, that’s cleared up over the weekend and we expect him to train and play this weekend.”
Hass said both Talia and Knight would be monitored during the week.
But he expected both of them to be available come Saturday even if they had to have a modified week on the track.
“Tals’ got a good calf cork in the Showdown, obviously unable to get back out on the ground,” Hass said. “We’ll manage that like most other corks; rest, ice and recovery.
“We’ll manage his training loads through the week.
“Get him out there training a little bit later and we’ll assess his availability later in the week.”
“’Knighta’ has got a knee brace on at the moment. He strained his medial ligament early in the game.
“The physios treated that, strapped it up and he was able to play out the match so that’s a really positive sign.
“Little bit sore early in the week, we’ll need to manage his training loads, but we expect him to play on the weekend.”
Kyle Cheney will also be available for selection after serving a one-match suspension.