Adelaide forward Mitch McGovern will be sidelined for up to two months, after the 23-year-old suffered a sprained ankle in the final minute of Saturday’s Showdown loss to Port Adelaide.

McGovern sustained the injury in a collision with veteran Richard Douglas, with scans on Monday identifying a high ankle sprain.

Crows GM of High Performance Matt Hass said McGovern won’t require surgery, with a view of him returning to action later in the season.

“Mitch had that collision with Dougy late in the final quarter against Port,” he said.

“First of all, we were treating him after the match from a head knock, which he presented with. Unfortunately, later in the weekend, he reported some ankle soreness which we scanned on Monday and revealed the high ankle sprain.

“He’s since seen a specialist and we’ve decided to take conservative measures at the moment. We’ll see how he presents over time and rehab him accordingly, so he’s looking to spend a period of time out.

“Luckily no surgery required at this point so that’s pleasing for Mitch, which means he’ll be back slightly earlier than the surgical option.”

In better news, captain Taylor Walker’s prognosis remains positive after suffering glute irritation in Showdown 44.

“Tex has improved pretty quickly out of the game,” Hass said.

“He had some back and glute irritation, which was referring some pain down into his legs, so he came off for a little bit of treatment that improved his symptoms largely and he was able to play out the game.”

Ruckman Sam Jacobs is expected to play after suffering back spasms during Saturday’s game.

There are a host of Crows on the comeback trail, with as many as five set to pull on the boots this weekend after stints on the sidelines.

“If everyone gets through training healthily and pull up well, we expect to see Riley Knight, Alex Keath, Sam Gibson, Kyle Hartigan and Curtly Hampton return for the team so that’s a really nice boost for the playing list.”

Midfielder Brad Crouch continues to progress from groin soreness and while surgery won’t be required, there isn’t a definitive date for his return.

“Brad’s progressing slowly. We’ve got him on a strength and conditioning program now just to build up that strength and tolerance around his hip and pelvis,” Hass said.

“At this point, there’s absolutely no surgery required, it’s just a slow and steady build-up for Brad to make sure he ticks a few important boxes before he really starts to build up his training load and we expect to see him later on in the year.”

Injury list as of Tuesday, May 15

Taylor Walker (glute) – Test

Sam Jacobs (back) – Test

Riley Knight (general soreness) - Test

Curtly Hampton (groin) – Test

Kyle Hartigan (hamstring) – Test

Sam Gibson (hamstring) – Test

Alex Keath (ankle) – Test

Wayne Milera (hamstring) – 1 week

Andrew McPherson (groin soreness) – 2-3 weeks

Rory Sloane (foot) – TBC

Brad Crouch (groin soreness) – TBC

Mitch McGovern (ankle) – 8 weeks

Paul Hunter (ankle) – 10-12 weeks

Brodie Smith (knee) – Indefinite