Wellington's troubled start to the A-League season has deepened with defender Luke DeVere set to be sidelined for at least 10 weeks with a knee injury.
The 31-year-old suffered the injury in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Central Coast and the Phoenix have confirmed he'll undergo surgery on Thursday.
It's expected the former Brisbane Roar centre-back, who made one appearance for the Socceroos in 2015, will be out for 10-12 weeks.
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It's a blow for the New Zealand club, who have relocated to Wollongong for an undetermined period to play the 2020-21 season, and sit second bottom with just one win from six matches.
"Luke is an important part of our team, not just for what he brings on the field but for his voice and mentoring of the younger players," Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay said.
"We expect the latter to continue even while he recovers from his injury."
Wellington's next match is against Western Sydney Wanderers on Feb. 21 in Wollongong.