Football: Durante under injury cloud

Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante. Picture / Getty Images

Wellington Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante is in doubt for his side's clash with Adelaide United in Lower Hutt tomorrow due to a calf ailment.

The 32-year-old, who rarely misses games, was sore today and if he was to be ruled out, his centre back partner Ben Sigmund would captain the side.

"Andrew got a knock on his calf. We don't know if it's just a bad bruise - there's a lot of dead blood in there - or if it's a tear," Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick said.

"So he's having scans this afternoon and a fitness test tomorrow morning. So we'll know more about Andrew by lunchtime tomorrow."

If Durante was to be scratched, Tom Doyle, Roly Bonevacia or Michael Boxall shape as the leading contenders to join Sigmund in the middle of the backline.

Left back Manny Muscat is suspended, which creates another hole in defence. Merrick could move Boxall across to left back and play the returning Louis Fenton on the right or Doyle may slide in at left back where he featured earlier this season.

Boxall, who scored a goal and created one during Wellington's 3-2 win over the Victory in Melbourne last Sunday, seems assured of retaining his place in the starting side, despite Fenton's recovery from concussion.

"We've got to have depth so we don't get caught out as we did last year and we've got really good depth now," Merrick said.

Bench forward Kenny Cunningham also has a tight hamstring and won't suit up tomorrow.
Wellington are riding a fresh wave of confidence following their history-making win over the Victory, which has pushed them to fourth place on the A-League ladder.

Adelaide, who are in third, are a strong outfit though and it shapes as an intriguing three-v-four battle as the playoff race starts to take shape.

"Teams that play attacking football really suit us, so we can play our brand, they can play their brand and the crowd gets to enjoy a really open game," Merrick said.
"We are looking forward to playing against Adelaide."

Tomorrow's game marks the third and final time the Phoenix will play at their temporary surrounds of the Hutt Recreation Ground.

Westpac Stadium was unavailable to the Phoenix during the Cricket World Cup. The kickoff time has been brought forward from 7pm to 5pm after the lighting was deemed unsuitable for a night fixture earlier in the week.