Despite being recruited last month specifically with their ACL campaign in mind, Carney did not travel on Sunday with teammates, who are in Saitama preparing for Wednesday night's group-stage match with the J-League heavyweights.

Coach Graham Arnold said the 32-year-old ex-Newcastle utility will devote all his energy to readying for this Saturday's away Big Blue with Melbourne Victory - the first of three major clashes within a week.

Four days later Sydney will host reigning ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, before returning to Melbourne for another major A-League clash with City only three days after that.

"Carney's only been with us for a couple of weeks, and we made him shed quite a few kilos in those few weeks," Arnold said.

"He put a lot of effort into the game on Saturday night.

"He's an older player, and we just felt it was better that he stays behind and gets ready for three games next week."

Following a vast collective improvement against the Wanderers, this match offers Sydney a chance to restore more confidence and kick-start the next gruelling period with a bit of momentum.

The fact that Sydney's first ACL appearance in five years will come against past champions is ominous.

But with the J-League season not starting until this weekend, Arnold hopes match-fit Sydney will overrun an undercooked Urawa Reds squad.

"The best time to get the East Asian countries is around about now because they haven't played J-League," he said.

"They've only had a few preparation games, so if there is a time to get them it is now.

"Maybe it would have been better to play them at home first while they're not 100 per cent in form.

"But it represents a great challenge, and for Sydney FC it's the first time they've played Asian Champions League since 2011, so I know even myself I feel excited."

Though he hoped to take at least a point, Arnold admitted his brief J-League experience coaching Vegalta Sendai two years ago had taught him that victory in Japan is no straightforward prospect.

Personnel-wise, Urawa Reds boast Slovenians Zlatan Ljubijankic and Branko Ilic, and are captained by former Japan international Yuki Abe.

"If you take the names away, it's the mobility of the Japanese players," Arnold said.

Omitted foreigners Filip Holosko and Jacques Faty also remain in Australia, along with striker Matt Simon and midfielder Brandon O'Neill, who copped a cork late in Saturday's 1-1 derby draw with Western Sydney.

Either Shane Smeltz or skipper Alex Brosque will lead the attack while Mickael Tavares will be fresh to start and prove his worth, having been excluded from the derby squad entirely.