Unlucky midfielder Aidan Riley is hoping to be back on track in January after a nasty leg injury.

Riley fractured his fibula and sustained damage to his right ankle in a contest in the opening minutes of Adelaide’s game against West Coast in Round 15. The tough 21-year-old required surgery to repair the damage and will remain in a moon-boot for another 6-7 weeks.

“I went to tackle a West Coast player and my foot got caught in an awkward position. I think Porps (Jason Porplyzia) came through at the same time and took my leg out a bit,” Riley told afc.com.au.

“I completely snapped my fibula and also did some damage to my ankle. I’ve got nine weeks of no weight-bearing at all, just on crutches. From there, I’ll slowly put a bit of weight through it and then I should be able to walk and progress to running.

“Hopefully, I’ll be back and ready to go in January.”

Riley, who battled groin soreness early in the year, was playing only his second game for the season and 12^th of his career when he injured his leg. It’s the second bone the former rookie has broken in the past 18 months, having fractured his hand early last season.

Remarkably, he’s maintained a positive attitude in the five weeks since the season-ending injury.

“It was pretty frustrating. I’d worked really hard to get back in the side and was in reasonable form,” he said.

“But it’s just one of those unlucky things and that’s the way I’m looking at it. I can’t control what’s happened. I just have to do my rehab properly, so I give myself the best chance to get back out there as soon as I can.”

Riley will spend some time away from the Club next month before having a screw removed from his ankle. The inside onballer will start the next phase in his rehabilitation, swimming, in the coming fortnight.

“With a long-term injury, you’ve got to set yourself little goals and tick them off as you go. When you get one done, you can look forward to the next and feel as though you’re progressing” he said.

“Originally, the goal was just getting pain-free. Now, it’s building up to the six-week mark, where I can get in the pool and do some swimming to get my strength back slowly. My calf is pretty skinny and it hasn’t seen much daylight for a while.

“There are a lot of little steps I have to get through, but so far it’s going pretty well. The physios are happy with how it’s tracking.”

The Club physios have organised a specially-designed piece of equipment to help Riley maintain some normality whilst keeping off of his feet for three months. The NSW-born Crow is using a purpose-built scooter to get around.

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“The scooter makes life a bit easier, just getting around the house and the Club,” he said.

“It allows me to use my hands a bit more than the crutches do. I can look after myself a bit better now – I’d been finding it a bit tough. It’s very handy.

“When I’m inside training, the boys sneak in and take it for cruises up and down the locker room.”