Newcastle coach Craig Deans wants an end to the rough treatment which has led to attacking midfielder Ramy Najjarine being forced out of Sunday's A-League clash with Wellington.
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Deans says Najjarine's latest ankle injury is simply the result of being kicked by opposition players keen to nullify his influence.
"People acknowledge he's a good player and they target him," Deans said.
"He'll miss another week or two now so he misses four games through injury and it's not soft tissue injury, it's kicks to the ankle from tackles and I think that's disappointing.
"We need to protect players that are going to bring something to the game and we lose him again for the next couple of weeks so it's disappointing."
Najjarine got through 62 minutes of Newcastle's 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory last Sunday before succumbing to his latest knock, that result extending the Jets' unbeaten run to five matches as they welcome the Phoenix to McDonald Jones Stadium.
Deans said the Australian under-23 international's most likely replacement is fellow youngster Luka Prso, as the Jets seek a second win over the Phoenix this season.
"A different type of player to Ramy, so he can pose a different problem for Wellington from the first game," Deans said.
"It's disappointing for Ramy not to be there but the stability is there with Luka coming in."
Wellington head to Newcastle bottom of the ladder with just one win from eight matches and after suffering a 2-0 loss to Victory at AAMI Park on Wednesday.
Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay has named attacking duo David Ball and Tomer Hemed as they return from suspension and injury, with Israeli international Hemed likely to come off the bench.
"The game of football is about confidence. If you win a couple of games in a row, the confidence builds and that's what we need at this stage," Talay said.
"We need a win on the weekend to build that confidence."
STATS THAT MATTER
* A fourth straight clean sheet for the Jets would be a new record for matches without conceding for the club.
* Wellington have won just two games from 15 since the A-League's post-COVID resumption in July 2020.
* Jets' forward Valentino Yuel has been directly involved in five of the Jets' past seven goals.
Australian Associated Press
