Adelaide captain Rory Sloane will miss the rest of the AFL season after scans confirmed he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Key points:
- Rory Sloane says this latest injury will not signal the end of his AFL career
- The injury came late in the Crows’ impressive win over Richmond on Saturday
- Sloane says he is relishing the “challenge to come back fitter and healthier”
Sloane was hurt during the final quarter of the Crows’ 19-point win over Richmond on Saturday night and had to be helped off the field by medicos before being substituted out of the game.
The 32-year-old will have reconstructive surgery in the coming week in a significant blow for Adelaide as they chase a surprise finals berth.
But the experienced midfielder is adamant the injury will not be the end of his decorated career.
“For me at 32 doing a knee is not ideal but it’s a great challenge to come back fitter and healthier,” Sloane said.
“It’s a little reset on the body for me to go again.
“I’ve seen my sister Shae go through it before and I have been inspired by her positive attitude and diligent approach to her rehabilitation.”
Sloane’s injury took some of the gloss off a polished Adelaide performance, in which they triumphed 15.11 (101) to 12.10 (82) to bank a second win of the season.
They take on the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat in round six.
“Saturday night was an incredible result for us as a team,” Sloane said.
“So while I’m obviously disappointed I won’t be on the field for the rest of the season, I will be doing everything I can off it to help us keep improving.”
Sloane played only a dozen games in 2020 and 18 last year after a string of problems including a foot injury and a detached retina in an eye.
This season, he was subbed out in two of his last three games.
“It has been a challenging period for him … it just seems to be one thing after the other,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks said.
“But he keeps fronting up … he just grinds his way through. He is exactly what we want to be as a footy team.”
AAP
