Adelaide star Patrick Dangerfield's shoulder injury is the worst pain he's ever felt

PATRICK Dangerfield has described the shoulder injury which will sideline him for up to a month as the most painful he has endured in football.

PATRICK Dangerfield has described the shoulder injury which will sideline him for up to a month as the most painful he has endured in football.

The powerful, game-breaking midfielder said he had copped much bigger hits than the one inflicted on him by Collingwood's Sam Dwyer at the MCG on Friday night but that he had never been so incapacitated by a collision

"It was the most pain I've ever felt on a football field and I still can't believe it hurt so much because I've been hit a lot harder than that," said Dangerfield, who has been ruled out of Sunday's home clash against Geelong and could miss as many as four matches. "It was one of those funny ones because it wasn't a massive hit, but he got me just in the wrong spot and straight away it didn't feel terribly great.

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"And from there it just got progressively worse and I was in so much pain and had such little power in the arm that I just found it really hard to extend it and grab the ball."

Patrick Dangerfield

Dangerfield's injury not only hurts the struggling Crows but could cost him the Brownlow Medal.

His odds have slumped from $6.50 before the Magpies clash to $15.

Dangerfield told The Advertiser he was shattered at having to spend time on the sidelines, having not missed a game since round 19, 2010. He has played 65 consecutive matches for the Crows.

"It's really disappointing because as a player you want to play as many games as you can," he said. "I've been lucky to play so many games in a row but I hate missing footy, it's never good to watch from the sidelines.

"I'd love to play this week but at the end of the day you can't risk someone who is nowhere near their peak fitness when you have other players who are 100 per cent fit and ready to go.

"I'm nowhere near the stage where I could play this week."

After consulting a specialist, Dangerfield was yesterday told he doesn't need surgery to repair his damaged right AC Joint, the joint which sits between the collarbone and the tip of the shoulder blade. But he is still in considerable pain and while he desperately wanted to play against the Cats, he understands he would be of little value.

The club says he could miss up to four games but Dangerfield is hoping it can be on the lower scale and that he can return for the round 18 clash against Fremantle.

At worst, he hopes to miss no more than two matches and be available for the round 19 Showdown with Port Adelaide. "I will go by how it feels," the 23-year-old said.

"It's not feeling great at the moment but when it starts to feel OK then I'll push it a bit more and start to do a bit of contact stuff.

"If it's not feeling good then I'll back off. The shoulder won't get any worse, it just comes down to what sort of pain I can play with."

Dangerfield damaged his shoulder in the first quarter of Friday night's 27-point defeat to the Magpies.

He was helped from the field by trainers but returned to the action and, despite clearly being limited by the injury, finished with 15 disposals, as well as having five score involvements.

Dangerfield said doctors quickly assessed the injury and knew he couldn't do any more structural damage.

He had the shoulder strapped and a pain-killing injection to dull the pain but was still not able to put much pressure on the arm.

"It was sore and I just didn't have the movement that I wanted, which is why I spent so much time forward," Dangerfield said.

He said the only positive with his injury was that it allows him to freshen up his body, particularly a sore knee, which has copped a physical pounding this season.

"I've copped a bit of a beating, so while it's disappointing to miss it does give me a chance to freshen up a bit," Dangerfield said.