Adelaide United are facing an injury crisis heading into their grudge match with Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night with full-back Daniel Mullen the latest player to be ruled out.
Mullen rolled his ankle at training could miss up to three weeks after scans confirmed he had suffered ligament damage to his left ankle, while attacking duo Travis Dodd and Matthew Leckie are also doubtful.
United will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and stretch their record 13-match undefeated streak, but face bogey-side Victory, whom it has lost to the past nine times.
“It’s not positive. I saw he rolled his ankle and we have to wait for, maybe one day to find out what exactly is going on but I think he will be out for the next coming game. It’s not good because it’s also his birthday today, so it’s not a good moment,” Reds coach Rini Coolen said before the results of the scans were revealed.
“Definitely we can’t play with him in our next game. Something like that happens at training, you are not happy about but of course we have to handle the things that happen sometime in football. Let us hope that it is just only one game.”
Dodd, who was instrumental in the Reds’ 3-0 demolition of Wellington on Friday night, looks set to miss the Victory game after he limped off in injury time with the same Achilles injury that troubled him last season.
Leckie is also in doubt for Saturday after he was a last-minute withdrawal against the Phoenix with swelling in his knee.
Coolen said he hasn’t ruled the pair out completely and remains positive of their chances to get up for the grudge match.
“They are on schedule of what we told them to do, it’s also important what they do tomorrow, so they have progressed every day much better so I’m still positive,” he said.
“That is what we will find out Wednesday and normally if they are fit Wednesday, a little bit better Wednesday, then they have to train with us Thursday and if they are fit on Thursday maybe they can be involved in the game on Friday.”
Coolen admitted he was disappointed he couldn’t retain the services of short-term signings Joe Keenan and Cameron Watson, whom the Reds farewelled last week, despite Lloyd Owusu (knee) and Nigel Boogaard (ankle) both listed as long-term injuries.
The United boss said losing the pair has made it more difficult to cover the loss of Mullen, with Watson used to plug the hole at right back when the 21-year-old was on international duty with the Olyroos.
“You need all the squad members. That is what happens if you lose players, and anything can happen during a training session, then maybe you have to find out how you can bring your squad to bigger numbers again,” he said.
“You have problems when you lose players like Keenan and Watson … there is always a problem when you lose a player like Daniel Mullen, but if you have players in your squad who can play at that position like Watson, then it is not a big problem, but we can’t, but maybe we can do something in a couple of days, but let’s hope that is not so important to do it and the problem for Daniel is not so big.”
