RULED OUT: Manny Muscat has a shoulder injury and will not play in Brisbane.

The news was mixed on the Wellington Phoenix injury front on Wednesday with Manny Muscat ruled of Sunday's game in Brisbane with a shoulder injury but Nathan Burns and Alex Rodriguez were cleared to play.

Muscat damaged the AC joint in his shoulder during last Saturday's 2-1 win over the Glory in Perth which propelled the Phoenix to the top of the A-League ladder for the first time.

The left back played on until the 69th minute at nib Stadium before being substituted for Michael Boxall.

"It's not a bad injury but I can't see him being right for this week [against the defending champions Roar at Suncorp Stadium]," said Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick.

"I'd say it's only a one-week type injury. If he was a rugby player, of course he'd be back in this week. Manny's tough, he played on through the injury. It's a very painful injury but he'll only be out for a week."

Regular right back Louis Fenton is likely to take Muscat's spot on the left, with Boxall coming in on the right.

Leading goalscorer Burns (hip) and classy midfielder Rodriguez (hamstring) missed the Perth game but both trained well on Wednesday and are available for selection.

Burns is expected to come back into the starting lineup at the expense of Joel Griffiths while Merrick will again have to make a tight call between Rodriguez's superior passing ability or the graft of veteran Vince Lia, who played well in his 150th Phoenix game in Perth.

Merrick's selection headaches this week are minor, however, compared with next week's looming migraine.

The A-League is an anomaly in world football in that it doesn't break for FIFA international windows. That means the Phoenix will be without seven players on March 29 for what should have been a blockbuster against second-placed Sydney FC at Westpac Stadium.

Burns is in the Socceroos squad for friendlies against world champions Germany in Kaiserslautern on March 26 and Macedonia in Skopje on March 31, while All Whites coach Anthony Hudson has selected six Phoenix players for the April 1 friendly against South Korea in Seoul – Boxall, Fenton, Tom Doyle, Michael McGlinchey, Tyler Boyd and Joel Stevens.

Boyd and Stevens are only back-up players and Merrick has plenty of cover for playmaker McGlinchey, but with three fullback options unavailable, the Scot will be desperately hoping Muscat is fit to play.

The situation could have been even worse if midfield star Roly Bonevacia had accepted a call-up from Curacao. Bonevacia was flattered at being selected for Curacao's World Cup qualifier against Montserrat in Willemstad but opted to prioritise club over country.

"He's never played for Curacao," Merrick said.

"He was born and grew up in Amsterdam so he's played for Holland at under-17, under-21 and Olympic level. He hasn't decided whether he's going to switch or not [in the future] but at the moment he's going to represent our squad."

Sydney will be without two players for the Wellington match – record-breaking goalscorer Marc Janko, who is the captain of Austria, and Olyroos midfielder Terry Antonis.

"I've probably been one of the most forceful in voicing my opinion about not having international dates in the A-League," said Sydney coach Graham Arnold.

"But it's the same for every team. We lose a couple of players but Wellington will lose more than us. Melbourne Victory are losing more than us. So I'll let those other coaches have their opinion for once."