Adelaide co-captain Rory Sloane is hopeful Josh Jenkins will return to the side sooner than expected and believes the injured forward will play an integral role for Crows in the second half of the year.

Jenkins will likely miss between four and six weeks after injuring his knee in the final minutes of Adelaide’s win over Richmond last Thursday night, in which he kicked four goals.

Speaking to Jars and Louie on Triple M’s The Rush Hour, Sloane said the progress of Jenkins’ injury would be assessed week-by-week.

“I saw him on the weekend, he pulled up reasonably well he said, but it’s going to be one that’s a little bit unknown,” Sloane said.

“We’ll see how he’s feeling each week… he’s going to be an important part for us in the back half of the year.”

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Sloane said the 30-year-old had been playing “outstanding” football following a stint in the SANFL.

“He certainly straightens us up and a couple of his one-on-one contests in the last few weeks have been outstanding,” Sloane said.

“Hopefully we get him back sooner rather than later.”

As for Lachlan Murphy, who had his three front teeth dislodged against the Tigers, Sloane confirmed the 20-year-old had kept his dental structures in tact following treatment.

“They [his teeth] were all there, I’m not sure if they’ll all stay there or if a couple will die… but there’ll all there and they’re straight,” Sloane said.

“He got well looked after, he was in the change rooms after the game so it was a quick trip to the dentist and he was watching the game on his phone I think.”

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The Crows returned to West Lakes on Thursday morning after taking time off ahead of this week’s bye.

Now back on the track, Sloane said his side had their sights firmly set on Geelong.

“Geelong’s probably the stand out [in the competition] - they’ve looked the most consistent by far and they’re playing some pretty solid footy,” Sloane said.

“We want to finish this year strongly… I’m looking forward to playing down there [Kardinia Park] so can’t wait.”