Adelaide United captain Travis Dodd will miss his first Hyundai A-League game with injury when the Reds tackle North Queensland Fury at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.
Dodd has missed just two games for United since 2005 – one through suspension and the other while he fulfilled international duties.
Coach Aurelio Vidmar said the skipper’s calf strain was a blow for an already injury-plagued side.
“He probably could’ve played but we really can’t take that risk … if he did there is always that risk that it could get worse,” he said.
“Looking at next week we need to travel on Wednesday to go to Wellington and this point of time it’s only 50/50 for next week as well.”
“He’s improved over the last couple of days so we’ll see how he pulls up early next week.”
Calf injuries will also keep Fabian Barbiero and Cassio out of the clash although the Reds will be boosted by the return of steady midfielder Paul Reid and defender Mark Rudan.
Apart from the personnel changes, Vidmar said the team needed to display an improved attitude if it wanted to beat the Fury.
“It’s just a mindset for us. If we go out there with the right attitude then I’ll guarantee we’ll get the three points,” he said.
“It magnifies when you lose and we’ve had two losses on the trot and it’s about the ability of the players to rebound and you need to rebound quickly in sport.”
And he said his players would need to use the ball better than they did against the Gold Coast in Round 3.
“Our inability to retain the ball was our big problem so when we did that in the second half then we looked a different team. We lacked that confidence in the first hour and then we realised we can play,” he said.
“Retaining the ball is a big issue. If you can’t keep the ball then every time you receive and give it away it goes to the opposition and you’ve got to chase. No-one likes chasing everyone likes going forward.”
“The more we hold it the better off we are.”
Meanwhile Vidmar said he’d received an apology from Cassio after the Brazilian’s decision to pull out of Adelaide’s Round 3 clash fuelled speculation he wanted to leave the club.
Cassio is disgruntled as he’s lost his left-back position to Scott Jamieson but Vidmar said the 29-year-old could be better used in the midfield.
“I understand where he is coming from and he understands what my job is in terms of putting a team out there that is competitive,” Vidmar said.
“He actually a lot of value to us in the Asian Champions League and the A-League competition last year. He had many assists, he scored four goals from that position and the combination between him and Scotty on that left hand side at times was probably the best in the league.”
