The Wellington Phoenix have suffered a late setback ahead of their A-League match against Newcastle Jets with influential midfielder Albert Riera ruled out after injuring his groin at training.
The Phoenix were already travelling to Newcastle without suspended duo Michael Boxall and Kenny Cunningham, and Riera's absence is an unwelcome added blow for the in-form Wellington side.
The Spaniard tore his groin muscle in the closing stages of Friday's training session and Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick admits it could be weeks before Riera is able to return.
"It looks like Albert has torn a deep groin muscle just at the end of training. It doesn't look good. We'll assess it tomorrow. But Alex Rufer is on standby for his place in the travelling squad," Merrick said.
"A deep groin muscle isn't good to deal with. It could be a little while before he's back. It is sad because he's been playing really well. He's been running the show. He's turned out to be one of the best middle midfielders in the league."
Josh Brindell-South is expected to make his Phoenix debut and slot straight in at right-back for Boxall, while Jason Hicks and Matt Ridenton are the replacement midfield options.
Vince Lia, who is in career-best form, is the leading candidate for Riera's screening midfield role.
Lia has transformed himself from a hard-working, battling midfielder into one of the best distributors of the ball in his position this season.
"He's just 180 degrees different from the player he was when I arrived," said Merrick.
"He's got one yellow card which is very strange for Vince. He's playing out of his skin."
Merrick rated Lia's performance in last week's 2-1 defeat of Adelaide as the best he had seen from him, but the 28-year-old was more circumspect.
"I've been happy with my form the whole way through the season," said Lia. "I don't think last week was that much better than any other game I've played.
The battles in midfield have been a feature in previous clashes with the Jets and Lia doesn't expect much to change on Sunday.
"If that's the way the game goes so be it," he said. "I'm pretty sure all the players that play for us can hold their own.
"I don't think it will be a nasty game. We're playing some good stuff at the moment and we're pretty confident."
