Adelaide forward Kurt Tippett will be named in the Crows team to take on Brisbane this weekend but is still to come through final concussion testing before being cleared to play.
Tippett was named in similar circumstances for the AFL match against Fremantle last Saturday, but was withdrawn on Friday after a ruling by the club’s doctor.
He has now missed three games after suffering his third concussion in five weeks, the latest in the round 17 match against West Coast.
Tippett will travel to Brisbane with the team on Friday, with the call on his inclusion remaining with the club’s medical staff.
Coach Brenton Sanderson said his star looked fit and ready to go and he was optimistic the spearhead would play.
“So far this week he looks really good and he’s been training really well,” Sanderson said on Wednesday.
“I said that last week as well though.”
Speculation has also been mounting this week on Tippett’s future with the Crows, with some reports suggesting he is close to signing with a Queensland club.
A meeting is scheduled to take place in Brisbane between Crows officials and Tippett’s management on Friday in a bid to finalise a new contract.
Sanderson said the club would love for him to put pen to paper.
But he said if Tippett did decide to leave, the Crows would make the necessary adjustments to the playing list to cover the loss.
“We’re still quietly confident, but I guess the longer that it draws out you get more nervous as a coach,” Sanderson said.
“We’re still confident that once he gets back and playing that he’ll make a decision that he can stay.”
Sanderson said the issue of Tippett’s contract was not a distraction for him or the other players who were just focussed on the game against the Lions and maintaining the club’s grip on a top two spot heading into the finals.
He also pledged to continue to pick Tippett during the finals campaign, even if he decides to leave at the end of the year.