Dangerfield was helped from the ground in dramatic scenes during Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn at the MCG after injuring his foot during a contest with Hawks skipper Jarryd Roughead.

The reigning Brownlow medallist soon re-emerged and turned match-winner, playing deep in the forward line and booting 5.6.

It was a remarkable recovery, and one that led Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes to suggest Dangerfield carried on about injuries.

On Nine’s Sunday Footy Show, Cornes claimed when Dangerfield played for Adelaide, teammates told him to stop talking up injury problems.

Cats coach Scott last night bluntly dismissed the comments as “attention-seeking behaviour”.

“Patrick Dangerfield doesn’t need me stepping in for him,” Scott said on Fox Footy.

“If there is a tinge of seriousness there, I’d probably counter with the fact that Paddy played through broken ribs earlier in the year without a peep.

“My experience with him is that he deals with pain pretty well. Maybe we have different experiences and different perspectives.”

Dangerfield made light of Cornes’ comments yesterday, arriving at a media conference on crutches with his head bandaged.

.@GeelongCats superstar @dangerfield35 has responded to Kane Cornes with a comedy skit says still might play crows @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/y1n5U8mXwT

— Sean Sowerby (@SeanSowerby7) July 17, 2017

“I didn’t have that conversation, so maybe Kane should do a little bit more research next time,” he told KIIS.FM.

There is local context to the Cornes barb, given Cornes’s long playing career at the Crows’ hated local rivals Port Adelaide.

“It’s great we have someone from the Crows’ inner sanctum – no-one is as welcome as Kane Cornes in the Adelaide change-rooms,” Dangerfield said sarcastically.

“I can only laugh at Kane, I don’t think I need to reference his career at times.

“I don’t take it hard… it makes for certainly entertaining TV.”

Dangerfield faces a race against time to line up against the ladder-leading Crows at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

Scans revealed yesterday he had escaped serious damage but he will still need to overcome bone bruising and swelling in his foot.

With plenty on the line against the ladder-leading Crows, Dangerfield indicated he would be given until the last minute to prove his fitness for the Adelaide Oval clash.

“So much plays out between today and Friday so we’ll leave it up to the last minute and then see how we go,” he told reporters.

“We’ll see how training goes on Wednesday. There’s a bit of bone bruising there and it’s a bit sore but everyone plays sore this time of the year.

“It’s a bit ‘suck it and see’, to be totally honest. There’s eyes on further than just this week but if it’s right to go, then there’s no reason to not play.”

The Crows are similarly sweating on the fitness of Dangerfield’s former midfield partner Rory Sloane after a weekend head knock – which could mean the match loses a key rivalry between the two close mates.

-AAP