Promising Adelaide midfielder Cameron Ellis-Yolmen has been ruled out of the 2017 AFL season with a knee injury.

The 24-year-old, who was tipped for an expanded role in the Crows’ engine room this season, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season game against Richmond on Friday.

The big-bodied Ellis-Yolmen has played 14 AFL games, including two last year, since being drafted by the Crows in 2011.