Adelaide’s Jordan Butts needs surgery and Western Bulldogs confirm Josh Bruce ACL

Confirmation of an ACL tear could mean career over for an out-of-contract Bulldog, while the Crows have lost another defender.

Josh Bruce hobbles off Mars Stadium on crutches. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Adelaide Crows have been left with another gaping hole in their defence, with Jordan Butts sent for season-ending surgery after fracturing his foot in Saturday night’s stirring Showdown win over Port Adelaide.

Scans revealed Butts fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the second quarter at Adelaide Oval and he joins backline teammates Tom Doedee and Nick Murray, both sidelined with ACL injuries, on the Crows’ injury list.

Adelaide sits just one game out of the top eight after taking down Port last weekend, with winnable games against the Gold Coast, Sydney and West Coast as well as a trip to Brisbane in the final four rounds.

Irishman Mark Keane and Josh Worrell were brought in to fill the void last week and the Crows will now need to turn to their SANFL players for another defensive replacement.

“It’s obviously really disappointing for Jordon and also the team to lose another key defender,” Crows high performance manager Darren Burgess said.

“The injury requires surgery which will see him miss the remainder of the season, but we expect him to make a full recovery and complete a full pre-season over summer.”

While Butts will be ready for pre-season, veteran Western Bulldogs defender Josh Bruce won’t be after the club confirmed he had suffered a second ACL injury in the loss to GWS on Saturday.

Sending all our love to you Brucey ❤️

Scans today have confirmed a ruptured ACL for Josh Bruce ☹️ pic.twitter.com/40XmaugUIk

— Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) July 31, 2023

The 31-year-old landed awkwardly in the third quarter and was helped off the ground in Ballarat before the devastating news was confirmed.

Bruce, who also tore his ACL in 2021, is in the final year of a four-year contract he signed after joining the Bulldogs from St Kilda at the end of 2019.

After playing just five games last season, Bruce was switched to defence by Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge in 2023 but has played just eight games.