Carroll broke his hand early in the match on the synthetic surface at Speers Point and coach Ruben Zadkovich said he was set to be out for maybe six weeks.

"He fell on the surface and it's just so hard underneath, he just snapped his wrist a little bit," Zadkovich said.

"He did it in the first half and he just played through it. He's pretty tough, but he was in a fair bit of pain."

Magic are second in the NPL, a point behind Weston, and host last-placed Lake Macquarie on Saturday.

Zadkovich said the loss of Carroll would be tempered by the imminent return from injury of Justin Broadley and Kristian Brymora. John Majurovski, who missed the Cup game because of a wedding, will be back on Saturday.

** Weston keeper Scott Carter has been another to show his toughness.

Carter played on with a deep cut just under his shin pad in the 4-2 win over Hamilton in round 12 after copping a stray stud. He finished the game in a blood-filled boot and had five stitches to repair the wound.

Bears assistant coach Craig Stoker said the weekend off since had been a blessing for the leaders, who also had Zac Sneddon (corked calf) and Regan Lundy (ankle) injured against Olympic. All should be fit on Sunday at Weston to take on Adamstown, who have not played since May 19.

Rosebud coach Shane Cansdell-Sherriff said Luke Vallone had returned from the US to boost his squad but fitness would be an issue given the gap between games.