Adelaide forward Josh Rachele has been ruled out of a comeback in the qualifying final against Collingwood.
The dynamic attacker had hoped to play on Thursday night for the first time since suffering a knee injury on July 6.
But Rachele, while close to returning, has been scratched from selection for the Adelaide Oval final.
“He won’t be available for Thursday night’s game, but tracking really well, training really well,” Adelaide’s coaching director Murray Davis told reporters on Monday.
“And (he) continues to knock on the coach’s door and remind him of how well he’s going.
“He’s pretty close … but just at this stage, won’t be available.”
Rachele tore the posterior capsular in his left knee along with sustaining a bone compression injury in a round 16 clash against Melbourne.
He has re-joined full training and would be “in the mix” for the Crows’ following final, Davis said.
The winner of Thursday night’s fixture advance to a home preliminary final after a week off. The loser is pitched into a sudden-death semi-final the next week.
The Crows pipped Collingwood by three points at Adelaide Oval in round 24, ending an 11-game winless streak against the Pies dating back to 2016.
With AAP
