Adelaide United’s hectic season is starting to take a heavy toll with Diego the latest Red to be sidelined with injury.
The Brazilian was a late withdrawal from the side which tackled Melbourne Victory on Friday and is only a 70-30 chance of playing Gamba Osaka in the ACL final in Japan next week, according to coach Aurelio Vidmar.
“He was a little bit tight through the hamstrings so we didn’t want to risk it,” Vidmar said.
“Hopefully he pulls up for Wednesday.”
There’s also a question mark over fellow midfielder Fabian Barbiero’s fitness while Paul Reid’s groin strain could rule him out for both ACL clashes.
“I doubt Paul Reid will be able to play but certainly he’s progressed very well and we are looking forward to, with a bit of luck and good management, (him being) ready for the second leg,” Vidmar said.
“He’s certainly, in terms of the group, probably in the best physical aerobic condition and he’s backed up game after game so if he had to miss two weeks he’d come straight back in and wouldn’t miss a beat … I wouldn’t be worried about that.”
Defender Scott Jamieson came off the pitch at the 75-minute mark against the Victory but should be fine for the team’s next contest.
“He was tight in the back of the legs as well so we didn’t want to risk that either and that’s why he came off,” Vidmar said.
The Reds are also sweating over the fitness of form goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic who’s missed the past two A-League matches with a groin problem.
Vidmar said his team no longer had the luxury of rotating players and faced a huge challenge of fielding a fit squad in the coming weeks.
For this reason he wasn’t too down on his line-up after they let a 2-1 lead slip against Melbourne.
“They tried to give everything they’ve got and it just wasn’t their night,” he said.
“Ten rounds into the season and we are not as sharp as you probably would be if it was only 10 games. We’ve had all those other games plus the travel on top but we’ve still got to stay positive.”
“We’ve just got to forget about that and fix up the small details and the small mistakes we had during the course of this game and get it right for the next couple of games.”
Captain Travis Dodd said the loss to Melbourne was a ‘shock to the system’.
“Things had been going pretty well for us for the moment so maybe that serves a good purpose in a way to wake the boys up,” he said.
“I don’t think it will change the boys’ attitude at all. It’s a different competition and it’s a massive competition and a big game so I’m sure the boys will be able to pick themselves up and look forward to it in a positive frame of mind.”
