Adelaide United's torrid A-League title defence has taken another turn for the worse, with goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The Reds skipper was forced off the pitch 30 minutes into Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Central Coast Mariners in Canberra after suffering a suspected torn lateral muscle in his shoulder.
That diagnosis would only compound the woes of Guillermo Amor's underperforming champions, who are now last by five points and about to embark on a gruelling Asian Champions League (ACL) campaign.
After upcoming home clashes with Perth Glory and the Newcastle Jets, Adelaide will host their first ACL group game before visiting Melbourne Victory three days later, flying to China to face Jiangsu Suning then returning to Sydney to play the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Sunday gave the Reds an unwelcome preview of what a match is like without Galekovic's composed presence in goal.
His replacement John Hall conceded the opener within six minutes of his introduction, caught off his line in a panicked bid to thwart speedy Mariners winger Trent Buhagiar.
Hall blocked the first effort but was too late to atone for the costly error when Connor Pain lifted a speculative ball to Fabio Ferreira, who pounced and whipped home at his near post.
Kwabena Appiah netted the hosts' second before 19-year-old Jordan O'Doherty's superb finish handed Adelaide an injury-time consolation goal.
Regardless, the result marked United's ninth successive winless away match in a campaign that has yielded 11 points from 18 games.
They host Perth on Friday without Spanish playmaker Isaias, who accrued his eighth yellow card of the season during the Mariners loss.
