Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi admits he'll have a fight on his hands if medical staff declare lion-hearted skipper Matt McKay unfit for Tuesday night's AFC Champions League opener against Muangthong United.
Playing out of position at left-back, McKay broke his nose in the opening minutes of Saturday night's 2-2 A-League draw away to Perth Glory -- but still played out the entire 90 minutes in what must have been immense pain and with heavy bandaging across his face.
The 34-year-old was seeing doctors on Monday to determine whether it is too risky to take on the reigning Thai Premier League champions at Suncorp Stadium, but regardless of what they say, Aloisi admits it will be hard to stop him.
"It's definitely broken, but it depends where," Aloisi said.
"I can't speak highly enough of Matt, considering what he had to deal with and how he played through the game.
"I would have to really wrestle him away from playing. I know Matty will put his hand up, he'll want to play."
McKay's availability is crucial given left-back Corey Brown (hamstring) is already ruled out, along with versatile defender Daniel Bowles (knee).
However, Jack Hingert (hamstring) has been cleared to make his return and could slot into that position if McKay is unavailable.
Aloisi is also sweating on the fitness of key midfielder Thomas Kristensen, who twinged his hamstring in the warm-up on Sunday in what the coach suggested was a likely consequence of Football Federation Australia's inflexibility around scheduling.
But the emergence of 18-year-old former Joeys captain Joey Caletti, who Aloisi hailed as "outstanding" in his A-League debut against the Glory, will give him some comfort.
"We know that talent-wise and football intelligence, he's got it," he said.
"Now it's just making sure we get the best out of him and keep on helping him improve as a player, because the way we want to play football, he's definitely suited -- that's why we brought him in."
The Roar have only won two ACL group stage matches in their history and have never made it into the tournament's knockout stage.
"I've got no idea [why], I wasn't here," Aloisi said.
"All I can say is we've proven already we can compete in Asia in terms of the two qualifiers we had to deal with. We feel we can beat anyone, anywhere."