Adelaide captain Rory Sloane has vowed to extend his AFL career into a 15th season despite scans confirming he ruptured an ACL in his side’s 19-point win over Richmond on Saturday.
The All-Australian midfielder won’t play again this season and will turn 33 on the cusp of the Crows’ 2023 campaign, but he’s determined to see out the final year of his contract.
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“For me at 32 doing a knee is not ideal, but it’s a great challenge to come back fitter and healthier. It’s a little reset on the body for me to go again,” Sloane said.
“I’ve seen my sister Shae go through it before and I have been inspired by her positive attitude and diligent approach to her rehabilitation.
“Saturday night was an incredible result for us as a team, we’ve been building and that was a good, solid grind against a quality side, so while I’m obviously disappointed I won’t be on the field for the rest of the season I will be doing everything I can off it to help us keep improving.”
Sloane hobbled from the field with the help of medicos during the final quarter of the Tigers clash, after his right knee buckled in a gruesome ground-ball collision with Richmond defender Nick Vlastuin.
A frustrating run with injury limited Sloane to 12 AFL games in 2020 and 18 last season, while Saturday resulted in his second substitution from his last three matches.
The 32-year-old also missed the Crows’ epic Showdown win in round three due to an adductor issue.
Adelaide high-performance manager Darren Burgess said the news that Sloane and the Crows had received was “bitterly disappointing”.
“He is one of our most important players and as our captain his influence on what we do is obvious,” Burgess said.
“But typical of his character he is already speaking positively about the challenge in front of him and I have no doubt he will attack his rehabilitation the same way he approaches his football – with the utmost professionalism and determination – and we look forward to him returning to the field next year.”
Sloane has played 232 AFL games since arriving at the Crows via the 2008 national draft.
The Crows are sitting in 13th on the ladder and have won two out of five games.
They will meet 2021 grand finalists the Western Bulldogs in round six.
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