Adelaide's burly forward Darcy Fogarty is out but Josh Rachele will make his return in the Anzac Day clash against Fremantle.
The Crows had hoped Fogarty would overcome a shoulder injury and front against the Dockers at Optus Stadium on Friday night.
But the key forward - who has booted 16 goals this season, two behind Coleman medal leaders Josh Treacy and Ben King - didn't fly to Perth on Thursday.
"He felt pretty good moving around," Crows coach Matthew Nicks told reporters at Adelaide Airport.
"But if you watch the vision back, there's even one where he has a kick after he's hurting - that will hurt more than a bump.
"So there's just a few things that he's going to work through."
But crafty forward Rachele has been selected to return from a three-game absence due to broken ribs.
"We're confident with Josh, he's feeling fantastic," Nicks said.
"We'll do a light run (in Perth) today and he'll do a little bit more just to get moving, make sure he's OK, probably run into a couple of bags.
"But he's really confident. I'm really confident in him as well."
Midfielder James Peatling also returns from a one-game suspension for the Crows (4-2) who hold fifth spot ahead of their away fixture against the ninth-placed Dockers (3-3).
Nicks said 13-gamer Dan Curtin will be called on to fill the void caused by Fogarty's injury.
"We're asking a young kid now to step up and play a slightly different role, more of a target," he said of the 20-year-old Curtin.
"He's played that role but probably not as much as we would like to see this weekend.
"It would be a good challenge for him because he's a big kid, enjoys the contest. He'll sort of slide into a role that Darcy has been playing for us and it's an important one."
Curtin and his fellow forwards will come up against a Freo side still stinging from coach Justin Longmuir's appraisal of their 10-point away loss to Melbourne.
Longmuir said his players had lost their ruthless edge and defensive identity against the Demons.
Jaeger O'Meara (hamstring/foot), James Aish and Bailey Banfield (both dropped) are out of the Dockers side, replaced by Heath Chapman, Corey Wagner and Quinton Narkle.
