Macallister facing six weeks out

Gold Coast United’s attacking stocks have been dealt another blow with news striker Dylan Macallister will miss six weeks with a hamstring strain.

The towering 29-year-old lasted just 14 minutes in his return A-League appearance against Wellington Phoenix on Sunday before he had to come off, having been cleared to play after overcoming an earlier hamstring issue.

The earliest United can hope to have Macallister back is early March, when they travel across the Tasman face the Phoenix followed by a trip to Newcastle five days later.

Macallister’s absence is dreadful news for United, who are already suffering in front of goal with both veteran striker Joel Porter (calf) and Chris Broadfoot (ankle) long-term casualties.

Their lack of attacking options has been highlighted in the past two matches, failing to win at home against Melbourne Heart (1-1 draw) and Wellington (1-0 loss) despite plenty of scoring opportunities.

Two weeks ago, coach Miron Bleiberg said he wanted a minimum of four points from those fixtures.

The news of Macallister’s injury increases the possibility of the club entering the transfer market for an additional striker that can play off Maceo Rigters, Ben Halloran and James Brown.

Bleiberg was cagey when asked if he had had conversations with billionaire owner Clive Palmer about bringing in a new faces in attack.

“Yes. Discussion happened. That’s between me and Clive,” he said.

“There’s nothing to announce and there is nothing to be said. At the moment we play with what we have.”

“The transfer window doesn’t close until February so there’s still time to go, but that the moment we have three or four games and see how we go.”