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With top striker Boaz Solossa still recuperating from a knee injury, Persipura Jayapura was hit by another problem just before the team was to leave for Australia to face Adelaide in the Asian Champions League playoffs.

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta has yet to issue visas for the Black Pearls’ Liberian playmaker Zah Rahan and defender Bio Paulin of Cameroon, which could cause the two starters to miss today’s flight to Adelaide.

“We are still waiting for visas for Zah Rahan and Bio. I don’t know exactly what the problem is, but our management is still working to get them on the plane [on Tuesday],” Persipura coach Jacksen Tiago said after Monday morning’s training session.

“But we have been preparing visas for the players who would replace them if the worst comes to worst. We’ll still bring 21 players to Adelaide.”

The coach acknowledged, however, that it would be a loss if the two players couldn’t make the trip, though he believed they had the depth to cover them.

“I don’t think it would be a big problem if we had to play without them. We’ve been without Boaz for the last three matches and Lukas [Mandowen] and Ian [Louis Kabes] cover for him well. Emmanuel Padwa and David Laly are good replacements for Zah Rahan and Bio,” Tiago said.

Boaz sustained a knee injury in a match against Sriwijaya FC on Jan. 28.

Persipura will play Adelaide in the one-off playoff at Hindmarsh Stadium on Thursday after the club’s appeal over its exclusion from the ACL was provisionally upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Feb. 1.

The Papuans were excluded from the ACL playoff draw in December because the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) refused to register them after the club opted to play in the breakaway Indonesian Super League instead of the official Indonesian Premier League.

If Adelaide wins the playoff it will advance to the ACL group stage, but that might not be the case for Persipura.

If Persipura wins, it is not clear what would happen. The Asian Football Confederation said it would wait for the CAS’s final ruling, which is expected before March 6, before determining whether the Papuan club would be eligible to play in the group stage.

Tiago just wants to focus on the upcoming match.

“It will be a tough match for us because Adelaide is a good team. They have a good attacking game and a solid midfield,” the Brazilian coach said. “But I have faith in my team.”