Carlton champion Chris Judd will decide this week whether to call time on his decorated AFL career after suffering a serious knee injury in Saturday’s loss to Adelaide.

The dual Brownlow medallist was pretty sure he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament as soon as he went down in the first quarter following a marking contest with Crow Patrick Dangerfield – a prognosis later confirmed by medical staff.

• Energy, spirit, the priority for new coach
• Kreuzer back in fold for Blues
• Footy’s big trade: who won?

“I’ve done a medial ligament before and the feeling was just a bit different to that,” the 31-year-old Judd told Channel Nine on Sunday.

“It was a really sharp pain at the start and after the first 20 seconds, not incredibly painful after that.”

Judd seriously contemplated retirement at the end of the 2014 campaign before signing a further one-year contract.

If he were to undergo a traditional knee reconstruction he would face 12 months on the sidelines.

He did not completely rule out going for a LARS reconstruction that could potentially see him return before the end of the current season – although it shapes as a highly unlikely option.

“It will be based on what the surgeon thinks is likely to deliver the best outcome, so they will be discussions I will have with him,” said Judd.

Judd landed heavily on his left leg in a marking contest with Crows’ star Patrick Dangerfield and immediately collapsed to the turf in pain.

Watch Judd’s injury here

The dual-Brownlow medallist started to limp towards the bench from the outer wing with the help of trainers but play was stopped so he could depart the arena on the motorised cart.

The 31-year-old waved to the crowd as he was taken off the ground in a sign that his days may be numbered.

He was immediately subbed out of the game with Jason Tutt taking his place.

Carlton fought bravely despite Judd’s absence and led 10 minutes into the last quarter, with captain Marc Murphy (36 disposals) superb.

But Adelaide’s class eventually prevailed, with Phil Walsh’s side kicking four of the last six goals to claim a thrilling victory.

Key forward Josh Jenkins booted five majors for the Crows, while Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Laird had 26 disposals each.