Adelaide won’t make a call on Luke Brown’s availability for Saturday night’s game against Greater Western Sydney until late in the week.

Brown, 23, injured his ankle when he was tackled during the last quarter of the Club’s win over Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday. The reliable defender, who has played the last 65 AFL games without miss, didn’t take any further part in the game.

Crows General Manager of High Performance Brett Burton was cautiously optimistic.

“The early indications are that he (Brown) may be okay, but we’re going to get some further assessment over the next 24 – 48 hours,” Burton said.

“We’ll make a decision on that later in the week.”

Fellow small defender Rory Laird and young midfielder Matt Crouch will both aim to prove their fitness for the Club’s Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round clash with GWS at training during the week.

Laird, 22, has missed the past three games with a fractured toe, while Crouch sat out the clash with Gold Coast on the weekend with general soreness.

“Lairdy’s been training fairly well the last couple of sessions, so we’ll look to get him into the main training session and assess him later in the week,” Burton said.

Adelaide could welcome back a few more players next week.

Riley Knight (ankle) and Alex Keath (knee) are on track to play in Adelaide’s next SANFL game against Sturt on Saturday, June 4. There are no SANFL matches this weekend because of the State Game between South Australia and Victoria.

David Mackay could also be available for selection next week if his injury rehabilitation continues to progress at the current rate.

“David Mackay is recovering well from that hamstring injury,” Burton said.

“He’s likely to be another week. Hopefully, he’ll be available to play next week against St Kilda.”

Defender Sam Shaw will be assessed in line with concussion protocols. Trade period recruit Curtly Hampton (plantar fasciitis) has started running in his recovery from foot surgery, and will continue to increase his workload with the aim of returning to the field within a month.

Injury list as of Monday, May 23
Luke Brown (ankle) – Assess
Matt Crouch (soreness) – Test
Alex Keath (knee) – Test
Riley Knight (ankle) – Test
Rory Laird (toe) – Test
Sam Shaw (concussion) – Test
David Mackay (hamstring) – 1 – 2 weeks
Curtly Hampton (foot) – 3 – 4 weeks