Melbourne Victory will be without Matt Acton for the start of the A-League Men’s season with the goalkeeper facing up to eight weeks on the sidelines.
Acton sustained a back injury during an in-house trial game with the club estimating he will be absent from Tony Popovic’s side for four to eight weeks.
The 29-year-old played 16 games for the Victory last season, sharing the goalkeeping duties with New Zealander Max Crocombe who has since moved to English side Grimsby.
“It is unfortunate for Matt to sustain an injury so close to the start of the season but we are working with our medical and performance teams to make sure he comes back to the squad fully fit,” Popovic said.
Croatian Ivan Kelava and Marko Bulic will fight to fill the void, with the club also adding Jerrad Tyson to their squad on an injury-replacement contract.
Tyson, 32, joins from NPL Victoria side Green Gully and last played in the A-League in 2018.
“We’ve brought in Jerrad to complement our goalkeeping stocks alongside Ivan and Marko,” Popovic added.
“The trio will be constantly pushing each other as we continue to build towards the start of the season.”
Victory, who finished bottom of the table last season, start their new campaign by taking on Western United on November 20.
