Canberra United may be left without two of their injured stalwart strikers Ash Sykes and Margot Robinne for another week when they face Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.
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It will mark the second week - if they are not named - the pair have had to watch on from the sideline, after they were rested against Brisbane Roar last round.
The United camp confirmed Sykes was battling a hip flexor injury, and Robinne a groin injury, with questions remaining over if they would be fit in time for the side's round five bout with the Wanderers.
Both Sykes and Robinne made up the forward line alongside captain Michelle Heyman in their first match, with Sykes taken out of the starting XI due to illness against Adelaide United.
The pair, however, were left off the team sheet all together in Canberra's last-minute 3-3 comeback against Brisbane and it remains unclear if they will feature come January 1.
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The saviour of United's last-minute comeback in the last round, goalscorer Holly Caspers, said the side had the depth to deal with injuries, and the versatility too.
The versatility and adaptability to new lineups has been evident in the opening rounds as head coach Vicki Linton tries to find the winning formula and adapt her squad for each match.
Against Roar the side welcomed Allira Toby into the fold to make her debut in green, added Hayley Taylor-Young to the starting line up, pushed regular starter Laura Hughes to the bench and went from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 formation.
"We have a lot of different players, so our team is quite versatile in who and where we can play," Caspers said.
"Against Brisbane Roar you can see that they play quite compact in the middle, so changing our formation was more to go wide and attack in the wide areas.
"There will definitely be some reshuffle against Wanderers and watching how they play, and the best way to come out against them. But I think the versatility in our players definitely helps us in reshuffling our formation to best suit our opponents and how we can best win that game."
Linton will have a hard job picking 11 players to take the field for United if all of the squad are available, alongside factoring in her tactical decisions of if the Wanderers will revert back to a 4-2-2 formation, or keep their 4-3-3 from their last match, and her knowledge of how former Canberra players Bianca Galic and Clare Hunt play.
Meanwhile, United's postponed round three clash with the Perth Glory has been rescheduled to be played at Wanderers Football Park on January 5.
AT A GLANCE
Round five of the A-League Women's season:
- Canberra United v Western Sydney Wanderers
- January 1, KO 5.05pm
- Western Sydney Stadium
- Stream on Paramount+
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
