The Adelaide Crows are set to welcome back in-form ruckman Sam Jacobs for the match against Essendon on Sunday after the all-Australian contender was a late withdrawal from the team humbled by Geelong at the weekend.

Jacobs, who has provided good supply to Adelaide’s powerhouse midfield this season, was ruled out of the clash with the Cats with hamstring tightness but is expected to be available for the home game against the Bombers.

Forward Jason Porplyzia said it would be good to have Jacobs back.

“He’s certainly a very important player in our side and we’ll be looking forward to having him back this week,” he said.

“But I think the boys in the midfield did a great job without him. Certainly he’s important, but we can battle on without him.”

Crows forward Kurt Tippett could also return against Essendon after missing one game following his third concussion in five weeks.

Tippett is expected to resume training this week after seeing a medical specialist in Melbourne and then spending the weekend with his family in Queensland.

Though Adelaide might lose Scott Thompson, who faces scrutiny by the match review panel for a high hit on Geelong’s Steve Johnson.

Porplyzia said he didn’t see the incident in the opening minutes of the game but had watched it since on replays.

“It just looked like a contest that you would see every week, it was just unfortunate where the hit took place,” he said.

“It was just a football contest in my opinion. Sometimes they’re unavoidable.

“I hope they don’t look too much at the outcome, I hope they look at what the intent of the player was.”