Coach Ernie Merrick has named Nick Ward as the man most likely to step up in Thompson's absence and play alongside Danny Allsopp in the match at Telstra Dome on April 9.

While Ward has been battling injury troubles of his own, Merrick has been impressed with what he has seen from the former Hyundai A-League Rising Star winner - and said that while losing Thompson to a knee injury was a blow, he has players at his disposal who can step up.

"There's no doubt that Archie is one of the best strikers in the A-League, there's no doubt he's a marquee player for us. He's been absolutely fantastic and he gels really well with Danny Allsopp and it provides us with a challenge, I'm not underplaying that," he said.

"I feel we've got very good attacking midfielders. We won't change much from a 3-4-3 formation, it's just how we set-up in midfield and how we set-up up front. I would think Nick Ward can play a much more attacking role. Adrian Caceres, Kaz Patafta, there's a range of players that we've got options on.

"We've got some very good quality players, like young Kaz etc, who have been waiting for their opportunity. It's amazing what you can produce when you need to produce it."

Ward is still on a limited training program as he bids to overcome a degenerative groin complaint which has troubled him since his arrival in Melbourne in December. But his coach has faith that the Australian Under-23 star is ready to fill the gap left by Thompson.

"He's feeling better and more confident every week. He's played the full 90 minutes in very oppressive conditions in Bangkok and he's getting his match sharpness back again," he said.

Carlos Hernandez will miss again as he battles to get over a similar knee injury to the one Thompson suffered in Kunming, while Leigh Broxham should be fit to play.

"Leigh Broxham, playing for his country again, got a very slight groin strain but all we're doing is tapering his training to suit," added Merrick.

And Merrick is adamant that despite missing two of their key attacking players, Victory will go all out for a win in the next two matches.

He said: "There's no doubt we have to win the next two games to qualify for the second stage. We're going for three points against Gamba Osaka."