Watts arrest warrant recalled by court

An arrest warrant issued for former Melbourne and Port Adelaide AFL player Jack Watts after he failed to appear in court over a road crash has been recalled.

Watts, who retired from AFL competition last year, was listed to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday charged with failing to stop at a crash scene and with driving without due care.

The charges relate to an incident in September last year when it was alleged Watts crashed his car into a parked vehicle at suburban Fulham.

Magistrate Simon Smart issued the warrant after being told there was sufficient evidence on file to justify the laying of the information against the 30-year-old. However, he ordered that police bail be allowed.

The matter was then called on again on Monday afternoon with the court told that a summons for Watts to appear had never arrived by email as expected.

In the circumstances, Mr Smart recalled the warrant and ordered Watts, who is now believed to live in Victoria, appear in court in August.

A former number one draft pick for Melbourne in 2008, Watts played 173 AFL games including 21 at the Power after switching clubs in 2017.

In March 2019 he broke his right leg and dislocated his right ankle when trapped in a tackle.

Announcing his retirement last year, Watts cited the mental and physical toll of trying to recover from injury as a major factor.

"I have been thinking long and hard about my future for a while and contemplating retirement," he said in a statement.

"Since my injury, I feel my body has let me down and I have been struggling with the physical and mental requirements of getting back to the level of fitness that is required at AFL level."