Adelaide were aware of the injury but believed it didn’t require surgical intervention and instead were planning to manage it differently if Keath stayed at the Crows.
Keath has since had recent surgery and will be unable to train for at least three months.
Despite both the Bulldogs and St Kilda finding a crack in his lower shin,Keath,who was just about to take off on an overseas holiday,had been given a training program by Adelaide that included running.
That holiday has now been cancelled and Keath won’t be able to begin pre-season training until late January at the earliest.
Adelaide were aware of the issue during the season,where a scan prior to the round 18 clash with Essendon identified a stress fracture.
He played one more game for Adelaide,ironically against the Western Bulldogs in round 23. He failed to play that game out after limping off with an unrelated knee injury.