Gold Coast are set to get Shane Smeltz back but could we without both Bas van den Brink and Adama Traore for Wednesday night’s clash with Adelaide United at Skilled Park.
Van den Brink lasted only five minutes in Sunday’s bruising clash with Melbourne Victory before being substituted with an ankle injury after a tackle from behind by Grant Brebner.
The Dutchman will undergo further scans on his ankle on Tuesday and is a 50-50 chance to take on the Reds.
Another key player in doubt for Gold Coast is left-back Traore who has a knee injury and will also be given right up until kick-off to prove his fitness.
“Given the short turnaround between matches it-s fair to say that there are big question marks about both of them, but we will be positive until we hear otherwise,” Bleiberg said.
But Bleiberg will be able to call on star striker Smeltz who is back to full fitness after missing the trip to Melbourne with a virus.
Sunday-s loss the Victory has dented Gold Coast-s hopes of finishing in second spot but if they can overcome the Reds it will put them back in the hunt to chase down the Mariners ahead of the game between the two clubs next week.
‘We are fighting to finish as high as we possibly can so Wednesday night-s match against Adelaide is vital to our cause,” Bleiberg said.
“There isn-t a team in the competition that doesn-t have a ‘must win- game every week now, and that is the case for both us and Adelaide.”
“Both of us lost at the weekend – we were intimidated by Melbourne Victory and Adelaide were outplayed by the Mariners, so bouncing back with a win is important to both teams.”
