Arroyo suffered an ankle injury at training last Friday and, while it has since improved after intensive treatment, Jets coach Ernie Merrick appears unlikely to risk him in the starting line-up, if at all.

Arroyo is expected to be named among Newcastle substitutes but how much time he receives will probably depend on whether the Jets are chasing the game.

"I don't think the injury is as bad as we thought," Merrick said.

"He still has localised pain, but it isn't too bad.

"So what we've done is we've strapped it up. We're going to take him across to Adelaide and see if he'll play some game time or not.

"I don't think he'll start ... we'll take him over there, but I'm not sure if he'll play much time at all."

In Arroyo's absence, Kaine Sheppard, who scored three goals in 22 games last season in his debut A-League campaign, is set to join Socceroo Dimi Petratos and new recruits Nick Fitzgerald and Wes Hoolahan Newcastle's front line.

"Kaine Sheppard's been scoring goals for fun at training," Merrick said.

"He's always there, he's always around. He's good off the bench, he's good starting. So he's pushing very hard to be a regular up front for us."

Jets skipper Nigel Boogaard is likely to receive his first game time of Newcastle's 2019-20 campaign, having received a medical clearance last week to resume playing after off-season knee surgery.

"We'll probably have the likes of Nigel Boogaard, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, [Glen] Moss, [Angus] Thurgate, who is becoming a regular, and maybe Arroyo on the bench," Merrick said.

"If that's the case, that's probably the strongest bench since I've been at the club."

In what will be their first appearance in the cup quarter-finals, Merrick said Newcastle "want to be on the front foot from the start" against an Adelaide side who traditionally have done well in the knockout competition.

"It would be really good to go all the way to the final of the FFA Cup," Merrick said.

"But that's two games away. It's very important that we focus on this one and play to our strengths."

The match represents a homecoming for Jets defender Johnny Koutroumbis, who grew up in Adelaide before signing with Newcastle as an 18-year-old.

"I did support Adelaide United," Koutroumbis. "It's always a dream to play professional football, especially as a young player and coming through the youth team.

"It was a dream [to play for Adelaide], but my dream ended up here."

Meanwhile Irish defender Bobby Burns is expected to arrive in Newcastle this week for medical and physical testing. Providing the 19-year-old meets requirements, the Jets are poised to sign him on loan from Scottish Premier League side Hearts.