A-League Women: Perth Glory coach Stephen Peters says injuries starting to pile up ahead of Sydney FC visit

Perth Glory’s A-League Women injury crisis continues to throw curveballs at the club, with coach Stephen Peters revealing co-captain Isobel Dalton is still struggling with a hamstring injury. And not even injury-replacement players have been spared, with Peters confirming a recent addition to their squad suffered a serious injury ahead of their loss to Wellington on Saturday. But with a visit from the reigning champions forthcoming on Friday night, Peters has urged Perth to defy expectations and not let Sydney FC dictate terms at Sam Kerr Football Centre on Friday night. The Glory might have to battle Sydney without Dalton, with Peters admitting the midfielder’s hamstring issues had re-surfaced ahead of their 2-0 defeat against the Phoenix on Saturday. “It’s a bit of a weird one, it’s right on the cusp of a tendon injury as well,” he said. “It’s quite painful for her, so, unfortunately, we’re a bit unsure about her. It’s a bit of a week-to-week proposition now. “It’s quite annoying in that way because she’s obviously not getting the preparation she needs in terms of being able to put a full week of training in, so that’s difficult mentally for her.” Perth are already missing attackers Kelli Brown and Sarah O’Donoghue to mid-term ankle injuries, as well as winger Susan Phonsongkham, who is yet to play this season due to a serious ankle injury and is not expected to be available until late in the calendar. To make matters worse, Peters said injury-replacement signing Olivia Wood had travelled to New Zealand with them ahead of the Phoenix clash but had ruptured the anterior talofibular ligament in her ankle the day before the game. In some better news for Perth, Peters was hopeful the returning Tijan McKenna (foot) and Ella Abdul-Massih (calf) would be able to see some action against Sydney, while Gabby Hollar will be available despite sustaining a nose injury against Wellington. A wounded Sydney surprisingly sit bottom of the table with only one win this season, just eight months after they beat Melbourne City in last year’s grand final. Despite all of their injuries, Peters challenged his side to take the game to Sydney. “They probably looked at this game on paper and said it’s a game they feel they can win, I would dare say, so we know they’re going to be coming here pretty determined to get the three points,” he said. “As you’ve seen on the table, back-to-back wins, that’ll prop you up pretty quickly. It’s a very massive game for us. “They’ve got match winners all across the park, and they still do, so I think it’s a matter of time until they start showcasing that more consistently and get the wins on the board. “We’re not going to be rolling out the red carpet for them; we’ve got to get in their face, and welcome them to Perth the way we know how.”