Phoenix duo under injury clouds

January 1, 2013

Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert looks set to call for reinforcements after Leo Bertos and Alex Smith suffered facial injuries and teen striker Tyler Boyd was sent off in their 2-1 A-League defeat in Brisbane.Boyd, 18, picked up his second yellow card 18 minutes into the second half and Bertos was forced off late in the match after all the substitutions had been used, reducing the Phoenix to nine men for the closing stages.The loss resulted in the Phoenix dropping behind the Roar into seventh place.Boyd will automatically miss Saturday's match away to the fourth-placed Melbourne Victory while Herbert is also preparing to be without both defender Bertos and midfielder Smith.Bertos was felled by a late head clash while Smith, a 76th minute replacement for Manny Muscat, left the ground holding an ice pack to his left cheek.Both were expected to undergo scans."We've probably got two players who might have cracked cheekbones; we'll wait and see," Herbert said.Midfielder Cameron Lindsay is on tour and likely to come into the match day 15 to face the Victory while attacking midfielder Tom Biss and defender Luke Rowe are possibilities to cross the Tasman as back-up.A reshuffled front division is likely this week, with winger Benjamin Totori and striker Stein Huysegems both options for promotion from the bench.They could both start alongside Jeremy Brockie, who cracked his league-leading 10th goal of the season in spectacular long-range fashion late in the first half.The match degenerated after Brisbane scored through Ben Halloran with half an hour remaining to follow Besart Berisha's 14th minute opener.Boyd picked up his second yellow card in the 63rd minute while Brisbane defender James Donachie suffered the same fate with four minutes remaining.Roar striker Besart Berisha earned a yellow card for dissent after arguing that Muscat had elbowed Brisbane youngster Nick Fitzgerald.Herbert also hinted that Smith suffered his injury from an elbow and hoped the incident would be reviewed, while Muscat may also face a sanction for his actions.