Wairarapa United will be missing one, and possibly two, of their regular starting line-up when they take on Napier City Rovers in a Chatham Cup third round football game in Napier on Sunday.
In what is a rematch of last year's thrilling cup final won by Wairarapa United 2-1, thevisitors will be without the player who led them to that memorable success, Adam Cowan, who has a work commitment in Fiji.
And there are serious doubts over the availability of Dale Higham, who has been battling illness and will require a medical clearance.
Coach Phil Keinzley admits the absence of both Cowan and Higham would be a huge blow for Wairarapa United as their pace, fitness and high skill levels had made them key members of the midfield.
"They are the type of players who can turn a game through a flash of brilliance, and often have. Not having them would hurt our attack, no question of that."
Keinzley said the two training sessions held by Wairarapa United this week - tonight and Thursday - would largely be about deciding who should play where if both Cowan and Higham were sidelined.
"There are a number of possible options and we will be doing a lot of experimenting between now and game time."
Both Wairarapa United and Napier City Rovers will be coming off losses in Central League matches played over the weekend, Wairarapa United going down 3-1 to Lower Hutt City and Napier City Rovers 1-0 to Wellington Olympic.
Wairarapa United still head the table with 23 points but Olympic are now just one point behind on 22 and then come Napier City Rovers 18, Petone 18, Miramar Rangers 16, Lower Hutt City 15, Wellington United 12, Tawa 9, Western Suburbs 7 and Maycenvale United 4.
Interestingly the next three weeks will be pivotal for Wairarapa United in both Chatham Cup and league campaigns. To make the last 16 of the cup they must beat Napier City Rovers while their next two league games are against Olympic at Howard Booth Park in Carterton and, yes, Napier City Rovers again at Napier. Win those two and United will have taken a giant step towards winning their first Central League title.
