Perth Glory's hopes of title success have been dealt an unexpected blow, with star signing Chris Herd performing a major backflip by opting out of his contract with the A-League club.
Herd was due to arrive in Perth next week after signing a two-year deal with Glory in May.
But the Socceroos midfielder asked for the contract to be terminated because he was unable to relocate to Australia with his family and Glory granted the request.
"After considerable deliberation and in the best interests of the Herd family, the club will not stand in their way," Glory chief executive Peter Filopoulos said in a statement.
The loss of Herd has been somewhat offset by the recent signing of Rostyn Griffiths on a two-year deal.
Griffiths last played for Glory during the 2014-15 A-League campaign, before joining Dutch club Roda FC in the Eredevisie, where he made 20 appearances in all competitions and scored two goals.
Despite the loss of Herd, Glory will still start the season as one of the title favourites.
Griffiths joins the likes of Josh Risdon, Shane Lowry, Andy Keogh, Diego Castro, Adam Taggart, and Rhys Williams in a star-studded squad that features 14 Western Australian-born or raised players.