Marquee striker John Aloisi has been ruled out of Sydney FC’s must-win clash against Adelaide United on Saturday night with a leg injury.
Aloisi did not join his team-mates in their final training run ahead of their round-18 encounter to be played at the Adelaide Oval and will remain in Sydney to receive treatment.
“He’s got a bit of a quad strain,” Kosmina revealed on Friday.
“We worked pretty hard on Tuesday and he pulled up a bit short, there was a lot of shooting involved.”
“And he’s carried it for a couple of weeks so it’s probably best not to stress it anymore.”
Kosmina will take the same starting XI that suffered a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Melbourne Victory last start into the highly anticipated clash with his former club.
And while Aloisi’s absence is an obvious blow, the outspoken mentor backed Mark Bridge to shoulder the load up front.
“I think ‘Bridgey’ does a good job at the point, he’s a natural striker and I think he needs to start thinking about being a natural striker,” he said.
“I’ve had a chat with him about it, he’s got so many good things going for him, he holds the ball up well, he’s quick, he’s got great feet, fantastic feet, and he’s a really good finisher as well.”
The Sky Blues enter the match in sixth spot on the Hyundai A-League ladder, six points adrift of Melbourne in fourth place with four rounds remaining and under no illusions.
“We’ve got to win four games to give ourselves a chance of making the finals – it’s as simple as that,” Kosmina conceded.
And despite having suffered three straight losses, the embattled coach remains resolute.
“Why not, we’ve played well enough,” he fired when asked if his side can still scrape into the finals.
“We’re due a change of fortune and we’ve beaten Adelaide already this season.”
