Western and Newcastle count cost of physical ALM duel

A-League Men strugglers Western United will have to take on heavyweights Melbourne Victory with a decimated backline four days after drawing two suspensions against Newcastle.

For their part, the Jets will sweat on injuries to three key players nine days out from facing high-flying Macarthur in a game crucial to their fading finals hopes.

United's centre-back James Donachie received a straight red card for a challenge on Brandon O'Neill late in Friday's 2-0 win at AAMI Park that left the Jets skipper with a corked lower leg.

Donachie will miss at least one match through suspension, while captain Josh Risdon is banned for Tuesday's clash at AAMI Park due to yellow card accumulation after picking up his eighth booking.

The suspensions compound existing injuries in defence.

"We have to deal with it," Aloisi said. 

"Donachie will be out, Risdon will be out suspended, Jacob Tratt will still be out - not sure if Benny Garuccio will be back - Connor O'Toole will be out. 

"We dealt with it tonight. We had Charbel (Shamoon) come in and we'll see what we do on Tuesday night. 

"We'll discuss, we'll see how everyone else pulled up. Our NPL team played tonight so we'll see how players pulled up in that game. 

"I was quickly on the phone to make sure they took a couple of players off because we're going to need them on Tuesday."

Aloisi was adamant his decimated charges could still take it up to Victory.

"Of course, why can't we? We can cause any team trouble," he said.

"It's going to be a difficult game, Victory are a good side. But we believe we can beat anyone and we're looking forward to it. 

"We'll have a few players out, we'll have a few young players in - what an experience for them. But we've got a team that believes they can beat anyone."

Jets counterpart Rob Stanton has concerns over the fitness of O'Neill after Donachie's "clumsy" challenge, plus Kosta Grozos (hamstring tightness) and Thomas Aquilina (knee knock).

He was hopeful on Grozos and Aquilina, in particular, recovering in time to face Macarthur next Sunday.

"Hopefully Brandon we'll see, it's a contact injury, a cork, and he was limping pretty heavily so obviously the blood's pooling there now pretty heavy. So he'll be struggling tomorrow," he said.

Of Donachie's challenge, he added: "It's reckless and dangerous. We've seen a few of those recently.

"In the end, he gets a red card, he's out maybe one, two weeks. 

"But if Brandon's out then we pay another price, which I'm disappointed in. So both will suffer."

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