Adelaide star Brodie Smith has vowed to help the Crows lift the AFL premiership cup, albeit from the sidelines, after rupturing his knee in their qualifying-final win over Greater Western Sydney.
Smith went off in Thursday night's first quarter and watched on at Adelaide Oval as the Crows posted a 36-point win over the Giants.
His right knee buckled under him as he tried to tackle Josh Kelly, with scans on Friday morning confirming the worst-case scenario of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
"I've got the ACL tear with a bit of bone bruising and some other stuff as well, so I did a good job of it," Smith said on Friday.
"It is what it is and I just look forward now to the next three weeks and trying to help my teammates in whatever way I can to get the ultimate success.
"I've really tried to work on my leadership of that back six this year, so I've done a lot of work in terms of meetings and things like that.
"I'll try and stay positive ... and get the energy up."
A dejected Smith clearly feared the worst after the incident and was comforted by assistant coach James Podsiadly during the quarter-time break.
He spoke on Friday morning with senior coach Don Pyke. Smith will work with Podsiadly, who looks after the team's back six, for the rest of the finals series.
The 25-year-old will miss 10-12 months if he undergoes a traditional knee reconstruction.
But he could feature next season if he opts to have an artificial ligament replacement via LARS surgery.
"We will consult a specialist this week with the view to Brodie having surgery, which will unfortunately rule him out for the season," Crows football chief Brett Burton said.
"Brodie will still be an important part of the group as we continue through September."
He will be sorely missed by the Crows, who earn a week off before hosting a preliminary final. Adelaide will be boosted by vice-captain Rory Sloane's return from appendix surgery.
Damaging half-back flanker Smith played all 22 home-and-away games in 2017, kicking 11 goals and averaging 21 disposals.
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