Out-of-form Newcastle Jets have been dealt another blow on the eve of the 2017/18 A-League finals after injuries to Ronald Vargas and Wayne Brown.
Jets marquee Vargas was replaced after 57 minutes in Friday's 2-0 home loss to Perth Glory, with coach Ernie Merrick confirming the substitution was due to injury.
English midfielder Brown entered the fray after 57 minutes but was replaced barely 10 minutes later due to injury.
Merrick confirmed the double blow for the Jets, who have lost their past three matches, with Brown likely to be ruled out for the season while Vargas faces a race against time for the finals.
"Unfortunately we’ve got a couple more injuries," Merrick said.
"It looks like Wayne Brown will be out for the remaining part of the season because he’s torn his other calf now.
"He needs longer to recover from it. I can't see him being ready for the semi-final, certainly not the next couple of weeks.
"Ronny Vargas, we took him off because he had a groin strain, he’s having that MRI scanned today.
"We’ll know whether he’ll be right for this weekend but he’s not looking right. Given it’s our last league game, Nigel (Boogaard) doesn’t look right for that either."
Boogaard has been battling a knee injury suffered in the 2-1 win over Sydney last month and appears unlikely to play again this season.
The Jets, who are confirmed to finish second, face rivals Central Coast Mariners in Round 27 on Saturday.
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