Skipper Mark Milligan was always going to be a round-one absentee as he is an integral part of coach Ange Postecoglou's midfield mix with the Socceroos. Milligan will leave Australia in a few days to join his national teammates in the Middle East as Australia prepares for two Asian Cup warm-up matches against the United Arab Emirates and Qatar on October 11 and October 15.

Victory is also one of the A-League teams hardest hit by call-ups for the under-19 Asian Cup in Myanmar in October, losing three promising youngsters - Jordan Brown, Scott Galloway and Dylan Murnane - to the Young Socceroos.

Several other A-League clubs have lost players, but not all are regulars in the senior line-ups, like Galloway and Murnane were last season when Muscat opted to blood several youngsters.

"Its not ideal, but we will just have to deal with it," said Muscat, who is embarking on his first full season in charge. "The young boys will be away for most of the month, and then it takes them time to blend back in with the first team squad again."

Milligan is due back in Australia on October 16 - the day before Victory travels to Adelaide to take on one of its biggest rivals in the round two meeting at Adelaide Oval - and Muscat will be tempted to throw him straight into the action.

"He's an important player for us, he's the captain, and it would be good to have him in the team, at least for some of the game. I will see how he pulls up, but I would like to use him if I could."

Muscat is happy with the club's pre-season and with the way the recruits have slotted into the line-up.

French centre-back Matthieu Delpierre should bring stability to the heart of a defence, which had, on occasions last season, a tendency to leak goals.

Delpierre has looked impressive in the lead-up games and as a Bundesliga title winner his experience should prove invaluable for the club's young defenders Galloway, Murnane, full-back Jason Geria and centre-half Nick Ansell, who is likely to compete with former captain Adrian Leijer for a starting berth alongside Delpierre.

Meanwhile, Adelaide United has four players in the Young Socceroos squad announced on Tuesday by coach Paul Okon, who has also called up three overseas-based players - Cameron Burgess (Fulham), Chris Ikonomidis (SS Lazio) and Peter Skapetis (Stoke City).

The Myanmar tournament is crucial as it also serves as a qualifying competition for the Under-20 World Cup. The Young Socceroos will face the United Arab Emirates in their first match on October 10, followed by Indonesia on October 12 and Uzbekistan on October 14.

The top two teams from group B will advance to the quarter-finals, and the semi-finalists will qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand next year.