Adelaide's injury-troubled halfback Wayne Milera is set to make his AFL comeback after almost a year on the sidelines.
Milera is expected to feature when the Crows host St Kilda on Sunday in what will be the 27-year-old's first AFL game since March 29 last year.
Milera ruptured the patella tendon in his right knee in the round-three clash against Fremantle .
He suffered the same injury in 2021 and missed the entire season, and in 2020 played only two games after a foot fracture ruled him out for the rest of that year.
Milera was named at half-back when the Crows unveiled their extended squad on Thursday night.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks says Milera, nicknamed Junior, is primed for his comeback provided he emerges unscathed through training leading into Sunday's Adelaide Oval fixture.
"We'd love to play Junior, we want to get him out there on a ground he has played a lot of his footy," Nicks told reporters on Thursday.
"There's no doubt he's up to the level. He's an extremely talented player and if he's fit and raring to go, he plays."
Milera's return has put a further squeeze on spots in Adelaide's side, with Alex Neal-Bullen (ex-Melbourne) and former GWS duo Isaac Cumming and James Peatling also named to take on the Saints.
"There's a healthy competition at the moment for spots, guys know there's going to be some that are a little bit hard done by to miss out," Nicks said.
The club's highly rated No.4 draft pick Sid Draper has been named for his AFL debut, but whether it's in the 22 or as the sub remains to be seen.
"It's important that we remember round one is not the be-all and end-all," Nicks said.
"The quicker you can get games into players the better, the more they experience ... there are things we know he's going to learn from being out there and amongst it.
"A young guy coming in, the experience of playing on a big stage for the first time, a sub role might be appropriate. Or do you just let him loose and let him go? They're decisions we haven't locked in yet."
