Socceroo Mark Milligan has been ruled out of Australia's World Cup clash with the Netherlands, confirming Ange Postecoglou's subtle hints at selection changes.
The hard-working midfielder will join Ivan Franjic on the sidelines for at least the Oranje game, prompting more changes to the starting XI.
Speaking at the official pre-match press conference, Postecoglou said Tuesday's final training session at Estadio Beira-Rio was a chance to have a final assessment of his squad before the game in Porto Alegre (kick off 2am Thursday, AEST).
Asked whether he was contemplating more than just a straight swap for the injured Ivan Franjic with Ryan McGowan, the former Brisbane Roar boss predicted there might be more changes.
His thinking became clear when Melbourne Victory captain Milligan failed to train, with Postecoglou later confirming to journalists a hamstring strain will rule the midfielder out of selection contention.
Austria Vienna's James Holland, Massimo Luongo of Swindon Town and Matt McKay, Postecoglou's former captain at Roar, are among the likely candidates to replace Milligan in a straight swap.
"We may have one or two," Postecoglou said when quizzed about potential changes.
"Part of it is the condition of the players and who's recovered well.
"We may make a one or two changes, or maybe more than that.
"We will keep our options open and will try a couple of things at training today.
"We've made a decision on which way we'll go but obviously we've got to get through today's session.
"I've kind of learnt from the past to keep your options open till game day just in case.
"We've looked at a couple of different ways but in terms of the personnel we've made a decision.
"So if we get through training today that's how we'll line up tomorrow."
Postecoglou could also consider fielding Mark Bresciano in a deeper role, prompting a reshuffle in attacking midfield that could involve James Troisi starting as a playmaker, or Tommy Oar moving inside and one of Ben Halloran or Dario Vidosic starting out wide. Oliver Bozanic can also play in attacking or defensive midfield.
Asked which changes specifically he was considering and the coach was staying tight-lipped in front of the media.
"We know we have to be strong defensively, the Dutch are dangerous going forward as they showed against Spain," he said.
"We know that Van Persie and Robben will be a challenge but we knew that coming into the tournament.
"In saying that we also need to be attack minded, we can't just defend for 90 minutes."
The Socceroos will have their first feel of Estadio Beira-Rio pitch in Porto Alegre today (Tuesday) ahead of Wednesday afternoon' clash.
The weather is expected to be much cooler than in Cuiaba against the Chileans.
Postecoglou also predicted the game would be more compact than the Australians' group opener.
And with the conditions cooler it will help the players, according to the coach.
"We just have to believe in what we do and tomorrow we will get a chance to find out where we are at.
"There's a lot at stake for both teams. For us if we don't get a result it's the end of our tournament."
Skipper Mile Jedinak added that the game was a chance to benchmark the Socceroos against a highly skilled and star-studded Dutch side.
"We are looking to rectify the loss against Chile. The key part in the other match was our response after the first 20 minutes - that is driving us for this game.
"The game-plan will be different to what we had with Chile.
"And with the cooler weather the tempo will be able to be sustained for longer periods, which will be an interesting proposition and one I think we'll be prepared for," said the Crystal Palace captain.
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