Ibini limped from the field late in Sydney’s 3-0 semi-final win over Perth Glory on Saturday evening after hurting his right hamstring.

The 24-year-old, who won the 2013 championship at Central Coast under Arnold, underwent scans on Monday, although the Sydney boss didn’t reveal the results but his comments suggested Ibini was unlikely.

“He’s touch and go,” Arnold said. “We’ll give him right up until the last minute to prove his fitness.

“He deserves that because he’s come back from Belgium, he’s had a long period of the injury to get over (after breaking his leg at Club Brugge in 2015).

“He’s only been used sparingly over the year due to the fact we keep winning.

“His commitment and attitude has been spot on, so he deserves that opportunity.”

Ibini’s availability won’t affect Sydney’s starting XI, with the 19 of the two-time Socceroo’s 20 A-League appearances coming off the bench this term.

Meanwhile, Arnold dispelled any concerns about the Allianz Stadium pitch which was labelled by A-League boss Greg O’Rourke was the worst in the competition at the moment.

The state of the surface led to the NSW Government requesting the Waratahs re-locate their Super Rugby game on Saturday night to North Sydney Oval, but that was rejected.

Arnold had no issues with the Waratahs’ decision and said he side wouldn’t be affected by the surface.

“I didn’t expect that. If the Waratahs were playing Sunday and we were playing Saturday night and they asked us to move, we would’ve said the same,” Arnold said.

“For me, the pitch is fine. We’ve played on it many times this year.

“We played there at home at Allianz 14 times and we only conceded three goals.

“All I know is what the players love and that’s when they walk down that tunnel when there’s a big crowd, the atmosphere is electric, the fan are close and we look forward to play on that stadium.

“It doesn’t bother us at all.”