Andrew Packer, who only made his comeback last weekend following two months on the sidelines with a hamstring tear, has now damaged his right calf in training.

Packer now faces a month of recovery, frustrating the former Sydney FC utility player.

“It doesn’t look very good at the moment and we will have to send him for an MRI scan before we can fully assess the damage and plot a recovery,” said Roar physio Tony Ganter.

“He’s looking at a three to four week period on the sidelines at this stage, but a lot depends on the size of the tear. He couldn’t walk on it so we knew it was a significant injury,” he added.

Joining Packer in the stands tomorrow night is fellow defender Sasa Ognenovski who has not fully recovered from the ankle sprain that kept him at home last weekend, and also youngster Chris Grossman who misses out with a foot infection.

With Stuart McLaren suspended, coach Frank Farina will again have to reshuffle his backline.

But the good news for Farina is the impending return of Craig Moore, Danny Tiatto and Hyuk-Su Seo, along with striker Ante Milicic.

“At Newcastle last week, we had a completely new defence from the week before," said Farina.

"This week it’s probably going to be the same again, so at least we know we’ve got players who can fit in and adapt when required.

“It’ll be good to have Craig and Danny back.

"They’ve both been under the spotlight for the last couple of weeks which is normal for their profiles, but probably for more of the wrong reasons of late," he admitted.

“They both just want to settle down and show what they’re capable of doing, which I’m sure they’ll do.

"It’s just a matter of getting through this period of time where there’s a bit of scrutiny on everyone, but they’ll get through it and be a great asset to us."

With the Central Coast Mariners currently the only team in the Hyundai A-League to actually win a game, Roar are out to stunt the progress of Lawrie McKinna’s men and prevent them from opening up a significant early lead on the chasing pack.

Farina, who celebrated his 43rd birthday today, said he was wary of the Mariners’ firepower with all their forwards appearing to be in good touch.

“Nik Mrdja’s already scored two this year and Sasho Petrovski scored the winner against Sydney so they’re in form, and Kwasnik scored last week as well," he said.

“Scoring is always what builds confidence for strikers and winning builds their confidence even more, so you can imagine what a high they’re on.

"They’re probably the most deadly strike force in the league at the moment.”