The door is open for Matt Jurman to continue his dream debut Socceroos week after Bailey Wright was ruled out of Tuesday's home World Cup qualifying playoff match through injury.
Ryan McGowan will replace Bristol City centre-back Wright, who was suspended for Australia's opening 1-1 away draw and has now succumbed to injury three days out from Australia's second leg against Syria in Sydney.
It means Jurman appears likely to build on his solid debut in Malaysia at the left side of coach Ange Postecoglou's three-man defence.
The 27-year-old rarely put a foot wrong in the Malacca pressure cooker, delivering a composed performance as the Socceroos drew 1-1 in controversial circumstances.
"To make my debut the other night was pretty special," Jurman said.
"It would have been better if we got the win but it was an awesome experience and one I won't forget.
"It was just controlling the nerves ... I think it was a good start. I made some mistakes, but overall I was pretty happy.
"I can take that into Tuesday if I'm going to play."
The Wollongong native hasn't been back to Australia since leaving Sydney FC in January for K-League side Suwon Bluewings, and will have a contingent of family and friends at the game, after his mum and girlfriend surprised him in Malacca.
Fellow defender Milos Degenek, who made a crucial last-ditch clearance during his 90-minute shift in Malaysia, said Australia were in a strong position to put a counter-attacking Syrian outfit to bed.
"We're playing at home -- our conditions, our pitch, our crowd," he said.
"We can play our football a lot better than what we could in Malaysia.
"We battled them and won 90 percent of the challenges, if not more, so Tuesday will be a totally different game."
Goalkeeper Danny Vukovic is back in Belgium after sustaining an injury in Malacca and has been replaced in the Socceroos squad by Mark Birighitti.
