Vargas, who turned 31 on Tuesday, injured his quad during last week's 3-1 win over Newcastle Jets and faces the possibility of rare time on the sidelines this weekend.

The veteran defender has been one of the A-League's most durable players and has already racked up 78 appearances for Victory despite only joining the club in 2006.

And Muscat says Vargas will be doing everything possible to avoid missing a game.

"If he has got half a chance to play Rody will play because he is that type of character," Muscat said on Tuesday.

The Victory captain said it would be a strange feeling taking on Adelaide without Vargas alongside him on Saturday night.

"He has been ever-present," Muscat said of Vargas. "I can't remember the last time we have had to play without him but I am optimistic he will be fine for the weekend unless something has showed up on the scans I am unaware of."

With Victory bouncing back from the previous week's humiliating home loss to Sydney with their come-from-behind win over Newcastle, Muscat is looking forward to facing an Adelaide side also on a high after their home win over the Sky Blues.

Those wins put Melbourne and Adelaide into third and sixth positions but the Reds have the opportunity to draw level with Melbourne on 18 points if they can win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

"We have had some great rivalries with them and this week will be no different," Muscat said.

"They are coming off a great result last week and we had another good win on the road so it's built up nicely for another blockbuster on Saturday night."