Melbourne Victory head coach Arthur Diles said Nishan Velupillay will be sidelined for a “few weeks” following the club’s Isuzu UTE A-League Round 1 draw with reigning premiers Auckland FC.
Velupillay headlined Victory’s list of absentees for Saturday night’s season-opening 0-0 stalemate against Auckland at AAMI Park, where the two rivals shared the points in their Semi-Final rematch.
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The Socceroo – who enjoyed a breakout campaign for club and country – is nursing a hamstring injury sustained in a pre-season friendly against Adelaide United, having undergone surgery in the off-season following an ankle problem that ruled him out of the 2025 Grand Final.
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Asked about Velupillay – who was the team’s top goalscorer across all competitions last season with 12 – Diles told reporters: “He tweaked his hammy in Mildura against Adelaide.
“He had surgery in the off-season and was out for up to 12 weeks and in his first game back, he tweaked his hammy.
“It’s not a major tweak but still something that’s there. Maybe a few weeks away.”
Velupillay was not the only key absentee on Saturday, with Victory captain Roderick Miranda (foot) a late withdrawal alongside Louis D’Arrigo.
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“Hopefully Roderick next week (will return), maybe Louis as well,” said Diles, who handed debuts to CommBank Young Socceroos defender Sebastian Esposito, Denis Genreau, Xavier Stella, Keegan Jelacic, Matthew Grimaldi and World Cup-winning superstar Juan Mata.
“There’s some bodies that are not available for the medium term and in the meantime, we will do what we have to do with the players we have. That’s why we have a squad, that’s why we have depth.”
