Defender Ross Howard is expected to miss a chunk of the season after suffering a groin injury in the team's warm up match against a selection of Dunedin players at Tahuna Park at the weekend.
He is expected to miss at least three or four weeks, coach Mike Fridge said.
Howard was not the only player to pick up an injury during the match.
Andrew Ridden and Seamus Ryder took knocks, but Fridge does not think the injuries are serious.
They should be back at training tomorrow night, but missed last night's final warm up match against a selection of Dunedin players, coached by Tim Horner.
Fridge is hoping Howard's injury is cancelled out by the return of Craig Ferguson for Sunday's season opener against Waitakere United at the Caledonian Ground.
Ferguson has been out of action the past few weeks, but is back training after a scan cleared him of a serious knee injury.
Fridge has also bolstered the team at the back by signing Sam Redwood, the 25th and final member of the squad.
Redwood is originally from England, but has been in New Zealand for more than a decade and plays his club football for Hamilton Wanderers.
He has been training with Hawkes Bay United, and Waikato-Bay of Plenty was also interested in signing him at one stage.
Scottish striker Tom McBride, who played for Dunedin Technical in the past, arrived in Dunedin a few days ago and will have a couple of training sessions before the team's first game.
Auckland City beat Waitakere United 4-0 in the competition opener at the weekend, which prompted Fridge to give his players a message before Sunday's match.
''I'm drumming into my players that they [Waitakere] will be like a wounded animal after losing the opening game 4-0,'' he said.
''We're going to respect them. They will want to bounce back after that defeat. I'm expecting a very, very difficult game.''
Southern United beat Waitakere United 2-1 in the corresponding fixture last year.
