While Kruse has been cleared of his suspected break in his leg, he has significant muscle damage around the ankle and is unlikely to be able to play for the remainder of the season. He joins Archie Thompson. Matthew Kemp and Billy Celeski on the injury list.

Adding to what appears the greatest injury crisis in the club's history, Vargas is now only a 50-50 chance to play in Thursday's first leg of the major semi-final against Sydney FC as he battles knee soreness.

"Rody Vargas has got a pain in the back of his knee which came on during the game. He's probably 50-50 at this stage, but we will give him right up until kick-off to prove his fitness," Victory football operations manager Gary Cole said.

"We're obviously keen for him to play but we're also wary of him doing further damage and the whole finals series and the ACL may be over."

The club is still fuming over the Terry McFlynn tackle which led to Kruse's injury, the precise nature of which is yet to be determined.

"Robbie Kruse has had an MRI and we are waiting on the final detailed report," Cole said. "The good news is there's no break to the bone, the bad news is that there's an awful lot of damage to tissue in his ankle ... at this stage he is likely to miss the final series."

Cole didn't hold back when asked for his reaction to Kruse's injury and the incident in Sunday's match which led to it.

"He was hacked down when there was no need to do that. Terry McFlynn is going to play in the finals series and Robbie looks like he won't. That's the disappointing part," he said.

Kruse has been felled on three occasions in controversial circumstances this season and Cole is at a loss to explain why.

"When's someone's taken out the way Robbie Kruse has been three times this year, two punches and an elbow behind play and then taken down from behind on the weekend, they are the things that really disappoint you," he said.

"The kid's been smashed behind play. Charlie Miller deliberately smashed him well behind the play and got a two-week suspension. That's something that needs looking at.

"Steve Pantelidis got five weeks, but that may be reduced on appeal. (McFlynn) got a yellow card which is irrelevant now. It's concerning."

Cole said it wasn't up to the club to bring the incident up with the Match Review Panel and that the FFA processes needed to deal with the matter.

He added: "If the FFA and the match review panel are not aware of the controversy of this issue ... if they can't see that, I'm not sure what us picking up the phone, what difference that will make.

"The FFA do a very good job, but this is an incident which is of a grave concern to us because of our situation in the finals."