Weekend hero Danny Allsopp shrugged off painful ribs to crash home the winning goal against Sydney FC while skipper Kevin Muscat has ignored both a broken arm and a seriously sore knee to lead his side into battle in the last few weeks.

Sadly for Merrick defender Daniel Piorkowkski will not be able to play through a shoulder problem and will have surgery that is likely to keep him sidelined for around 10 weeks.

Leigh Broxham also picked up a knock ahead of the weekend triumph over Branko Culina’s team.

The Victory coach is not about to panic though as he begins preparations for the round eight clash with Adelaide United and has complete faith in the squad he has put together.

“The ideal is to put out the same 11 each week which we virtually did all last year. But we’ve got really good depth this year," he said.

"When we bring someone in, they’re pretty well prepared and during pre-season we managed to give everyone a run."

He added: “Daniel (Piorkowski) has had no luck. He travelled with us but was honest enough to say the shoulder didn’t feel comfortable and couldn’t run freely.

"He doesn’t complain and Daniel (Allsopp) doesn’t complain either with his ribs, and Kevin (Muscat) with his broken arm. But I think that’s the sort of stuff that makes a team as strong as they are.”

Merrick has not ruled out bringing in a replacement to fill the gap created by Piorkowkski. He said: “We always keep an eye out. Maybe another centre half would be important.”

Ljubo Milicevic is inching ever closer to a return after several weeks on the sidelines with injury, providing Merrick with some cause for encouragement.

Meanwhile, striker Allsop hopes his heroics against Sydney FC will allow him to banish a frustrating start to the season and provide the catalyst for further firepower.

The striker’s late winner in Melbourne Victory’s 1-0 triumph at the Sydney Football Stadium made it two triumphs in a row for Ernie Merrick’s side and pushes them up to second place in the Hyundai A-League table.

Where last season he could do no wrong and ended the regular campaign with the golden boot, goals and full fitness have been harder to come by for the former Manchester City man.

Until Saturday’s win over its bitterest rival, Allsopp’s only goal of the season had been his contribution in the opening round draw at Wellington Phoenix.

The 29-year-old, who has now scored three times against Sydney FC in Hyundai A-League meetings, now has his fingers crossed that the campaign will run altogether more smoothly from this point on.

Coach Merrick hopes the Sydney triumph will see his team build up further momentum and Allsopp is anxious to see that translate to his own situation as well. Has the goalscoring corner been turned?

He said: “Ask me over the next couple of weeks. I’ve had a difficult couple of weeks.

"Hopefully myself and more importantly the team, can go on and win more matches.”