Adelaide United will be without midfielder Dario Vidosic for Wednesday night's AFC Champions League clash against the Pohang Steelers due to a hamstring injury.
Vidosic suffered the injury in the Reds' 1-0 loss to the Steelers a fortnight ago, but was hopeful of proving his fitness for the crucial clash at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The 25-year-old was put through two training sessions last week only to pull up sore on Sunday, leaving coach John Kosmina with no choice but to rule him out.
"We gave him a bit of work on Friday and backed it up with a little bit more work on Saturday morning, but not excessive," Kosmina said.
"He pulled up tight on Sunday and consequently wasn't able to start the session, so given that he hasn't trained properly for a fortnight, there was no way he was even going to be able to get through half an hour with the level of intensity that is required on Wednesday night."
Youngster Evan Kostopoulos is expected to take Vidosic's place in the starting 11.
Currently with six points from two ACL games, the Reds are equal with the Steelers on top of group F with Gamba Osaka and Bunyodkor both on three points.