His side will be missing Ruben Zadkovich, Mark Milligan, Alex Brosque and Clinton Bolton heading into this weekend's clash with Perth Glory.

He also has a lengthy sicklist, now topped by marquee signing Juninho who could be out for two months or more with torn shoulder ligaments.

Culina is now having to name triallists on the bench simply to make up his squad's numbers for the away game on Sunday.

In total, 17 A-League players have been ruled out of action for their club this weekend because of international duties.

And Culina believes this weekend's games should not have been scheduled in the first place.

"I can't see why the round this weekend could not be postponed," he told Fox Sports. "It happens all around the world. Look at the Premier League - there are no games this weekend because of international week.

"I know they have television commitments and contracts to uphold, but so does the Premier League and their television rights are a lot bigger than ours."

He added: "It just highlights the folly of the FFA staging A-League matches this weekend.

"I'm not the only one upset about this situation. Other coaches (notably Perth Glory's Ron Smith), officials and fans are annoyed as well. And I don't blame them, especially the fans.

"The fans pay their money and they deserve to see the best players on the field - not teams struggling to field players."

The FFA defended the clash of matches, saying venue availability had forced their hand when setting dates.

"It is a complex issue and we have looked at the options," said FFA CEO Ben Buckley. "There was a thought to have free weekends to accommodate international matches, but that would have caused a number of problems.

"The biggest issue was that the longer we put back games and the longer the season went, the more problems we would run into regards to venue availability.

"Don't forget, we have to compete with the NRL, Super 14 and the AFL for some venues."