Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) head coach Mario Gomez says that captain Safiq Rahim will start on the bench in Wednesday night's AFC Cup clash against Kaya FC at Larkin Stadium.
A thigh problem has put the national skipper under an injury cloud for the Round of 16 match.
Gomez is likely to slot Amirulhadi Zainal into a central midfield role and call on Safiq in the second half as needed.
"Safiq will probably be on the bench," Gomez told New Straits Times. "We wil assess the midfielder before the game and will decide then. Amirulhadi is playing well and he is an ideal replacement for Safiq."
JDT are reigning AFC Cup champions and are hot favourites to brush aside the visitors from the Philippines who are in their inaugural continental campaign.
Even so, Gomez has vowed to start with star imports Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Juan Martin Lucero playing upfront.
"We cannot take things lightly," Gomez said. "Kaya will be eager after reaching the last 16 in their first attempt.
"We need to settle down quickly and get early goals. Our target here is to retain our title."
JDT have already won February's Charity Shield after a penalty shoot out victory over Selangor and this month's Malaysia FA Cup where they came from behind to beat PKNS in the final.