Crows brace to lose injured Lynch in AFL

Adelaide are bracing to lose forward Tom Lynch for a chunk of the AFL season because of a side strain.

Lynch is the latest addition to the Crows’ injury list – he was forced out of Sunday’s 16-point loss to Greater Western Sydney.

Crows coach Don Pyke says Lynch will have scans but the initial prognosis “suggests some seriousness”.

Lynch’s absence could leave Matt Crouch as Adelaide’s short-term captain – regular skipper Taylor Walker (soreness) and his vice-captain Rory Sloane (foot) remain weeks away from returning.

In their absence, Lynch had been leading the Crows, who have lost three of their past four games to slide to ninth spot on the ladder.

Lynch’s injury and a poke in the eye to onballer Richard Douglas denied Adelaide two rotations as they conceded the last three goals of the game to lose to the Giants.

“It’s not necessarily an excuse as to why we didn’t finish the game out as strongly as we wanted to,” Pyke said.

“But it certainly doesn’t help.”

Pyke said Adelaide’s form slump left his club with one option: hard work.

“We now assess what is working for us and each week you get some opportunities to learn,” he said.

“And we have learnt in the last couple of weeks some things we need to get better in.”

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