Australia's injury crisis worsened on Tuesday after forward Mathew Leckie sustained a hamstring injury in Melbourne City's 1-1 draw with Zhejiang, while striker Jamie Maclaren finished the game but said he has been dealing with an ankle issue.
The Asian Cup begins on Jan. 12.
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Leckie, 32, limped off holding his right hamstring in the 61st minute of the draw which leaves Melbourne's hopes of advancing to the AFC Champions League round of 16 on life support.
Maclaren, 30, replaced him on the pitch but confirmed post-game that he had been forced to come off the bench due to an ankle injury he had been nursing across a packed slate of international, continental, and domestic commitments in recent months.
"I've just got some bone stuff in my ankle," Maclaren said. "I'll scan it tomorrow and see how bad it is. It's been a couple of weeks but obviously [there's been] a lot of travel and stuff. It just blows up after flights.
"It hasn't been ideal but you always try and put your body on the line for the team and sometimes it can be [your] downfall but you've got to move on. That's something that we've got to do."
Any time on the sideline could prove costly for Maclaren, who is attempting to see off challenges to his place in the Australia squad from figures such as Perth Glory's Adam Taggart, Portsmouth's Kusini Yengi, and Melbourne Victory's Bruno Fornaroli -- the latter of whom has 11 goals in just seven games this A-League Men season.
"I'm not guaranteed selection," Maclaren said. "All the talk's been about Bruno and rightly so, he's in cracking form.
"Me, I've just got to get my head down and get us back up the ladder in the A-League Men because our form has been pretty good."
In just his second start since returning from a left knee injury that ruled him out of the start of the A-League Men season and the Socceroos' November World Cup qualifiers, Leckie will now join his City teammate in waiting on scans to determine the extent of his potential injury.
"I'm going to get a check tomorrow," he said. "I felt my hamstring a little bit. It was just a simple change of direction movement. So hopefully that brings luck on my side, it wasn't any explosive movement.
"I've had my knee now and I've worked hard to get that right and been training super hard to keep myself in good shape.
"I felt good [in his first start] against Perth and I felt good going into this game. So it's just one of those things. A bit unlucky at the moment and hopefully it's nothing serious."
Set to name his squad for the Asian Cup before Christmas, the injuries add further complications for Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, who is already sweating on the health of goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan, after his club side AZ Alkmaar confirmed on Monday that he had suffered a fractured cheekbone and was set to be "sidelined for several weeks."
Eyes on the road ahead 🔙🔜
— Maty Ryan (@MatyRyan) December 11, 2023
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Western Sydney attacker Brandon Borrello and St Mirren defender Ryan Strain have already been ruled out of the tournament with injury, while Middlesbrough midfielder Riley McGree and Hearts wing-back Nathaniel Atkinson are amongst those in a race against time to prove their fitness.
"It's one of those things; you saw it at the World Cup, there were some big names missing across all the teams," Leckie said.
"We've got a job to do at our clubs. As a player, you always just go out there and play, you don't think too much about what's going to happen.
"From a coach's point of view, they want to look after their players but if you get injured just before a tournament, that's football, it's unlucky."
Australia will begin their Asian Cup campaign on Jan. 13 when they face India, with Syria and Uzbekistan also awaiting in Group B.