Rankine damaged his right hamstring at training on Wednesday.
"Thankfully Izak's strain is only minor but we won't risk playing him in our upcoming pre-season matches," Adelaide's fitness boss Ian McKeown said on Thursday.
Rankine remains suspended for Adelaide's season opener against Collingwood on March 14, having served three games of his four-match ban for making homophobic slur last year.
His hamstring ailment is the latest in a series of early injuries for the Crows, with influential defender Mark Keane and emerging star Dan Curtin both sidelined with long-term injuries.
Keane will miss up to four months because of a broken leg while Curtin, who dislocated a kneecap in a training mishap in late January, will be out until at least round seven.
Adelaide's prized recruit Callum Ah Chee will also miss the club's pre-season matches after straining a hamstring while playing for Western Australia in last Saturday's State of Origin loss to Victoria.
Defender Mitch Hinge (back), winger Isaac Cumming (hamstring) and second-year midfielder Sid Draper (groin) have also been ruled out of the Crows' practice match against Port Adelaide on Friday.
The Crows travel to Perth for another pre-season game against Fremantle on February 28 ahead of the premiership season.