Adelaide is confident star midfielder Rory Sloane will return to its line up to face North Melbourne on Sunday having recovered from an eye injury.

Sloane missed last weekend's Showdown against Port Adelaide with a torn retina, suffered in the club's loss to Fremantle in round 18. Initial estimates had Sloane missing two matches, but he's been cleared by the club doctor as well as by two different surgeons.

The final decision on whether the 23-year-old plays will be up to coach Brenton Sanderson.

"I'm really confident he's going to play," Sanderson said on Thursday.

"He's seen two eye surgeons this week and they've both given him the green light in consultation with our club doctor."

But while Sloane shapes as an important addition to the side, Sanderson insisted he would taking a cautious approach.

"Eye injuries and anything with the retina, you've just got to be very certain that there's no further risk attached to playing him," he said.

"You know Rory Sloane's personality - as soon as he got the call from the surgeon he drove down to the club and banged on my window of my office saying, 'I'm ready to go'.

"A tear of the retina, we've just got to make sure that this is a smart footy decision that we make for his personal well-being."

Sanderson all but guaranteed the future of forward Jason Porplyzia who was dropped last weekend for the Showdown after playing 16 games this season. He managed 21 disposals and kicked a goal for West Adelaide in wet conditions.

The uncontracted 28-year-old qualifies for free agency at the end of the season but Sanderson was confident he'd remain a Crow.

"He is out of contract, but I'm almost certain he's going to be playing for us next year," he said.

"When Porplyzia was at his best in 2009 when he's kicking the big bags of goals, that's when there was a full forward and a specialist forward pocket.

"He was a really difficult match up, coaching against Adelaide at the time for Geelong [where Sanderson was an assistant coach], we didn't have anyone to match-up on him.                                                    

"But there's a lot more density now, forwards are now leading back to goal…the space now is behind, he's got to adapt – it's as simple as that."

Sanderson was pleased with the performances of Mitch Grigg and Lewis Johnston last weekend, but called on them to back it up against North Melbourne.

Johnston booted four goals in his first AFL game since round 20 last year, while Grigg helped turn the game in Adelaide's favour with 15 disposals and a goal in just over a quarter of football.

"Like Lewis Johnston, he's got to back that up this week – you can't just come in for one game play really well and then have a stinker,” said Sanderson.

"That's the expectations on our young players."