Wilkinson has missed the opening three rounds of the A-League season after sustaining the injury just before the start of the season.

The Mariners skipper was originally hoping to only miss one match but his arm is still in a cast.

Central Coast coach Graham Arnold is desperate for his inspirational leader to play in Saturday night's crucial clash against Perth Glory at Bluetongue Stadium.

With the Mariners picking up only one point from a possible nine, Wilkinson's return would be a timely boost for last season's grand finalists.

While not completely ruling him out, Arnold said he was not confident Wilkinson would be available for selection.

"It's a difficult one," Arnold said. "He's running and kicking so his football fitness is not a problem.

"But he's still training in a cast. It will again be a last-minute decision."

Meanwhile, Arnold believes making a host of changes ahead of the match with in-form Glory is not the answer to his team's indifferent start to the season.

In Sunday's 1-0 defeat against Newcastle the Mariners were poor in the first half before dominating the bulk of the second half.

They just could not find the back of the net.

"It's a matter of going through the process, I'm positive we will improve enormously on Saturday night against Perth," Arnold said.

"The players are hurting but I'm pretty relaxed about the situation, we'll turn it around. We've got to stop giving the ball away so cheaply."