Newcastle Jets look set to lose Joel Griffiths to injury for vital Wanderers clash Joel Griffiths" potential absence could be telling for the Jets. AN injured Joel Griffiths appears certain to be among a raft of changes as Newcastle Jets coach Phil Stubbins takes the axe to his under-performing squad ahead of Saturday night's clash with Western Sydney. Stubbins has reacted savagely to his side's dismal 4-0 loss to Brisbane last weekend, and the club's winless start to the season, by being prepared to dump as many as five starting players, including goalkeeper Mark Birighetti, for the bottom-of-the-table showdown. Defenders Taylor Regan and Sam Gallagher and midfielders Ben Kantarovski and Zenon Caravella are also in the firing line as Stubbins searches for a winning combination. Unheralded teenager Nick Cowburn, the son of former Newcastle KB United midfielder Brett, will make his A-League debut off the bench while Ben Kennedy replaces Birighetti in goals. Defenders Scott Neville, Sam Gallaway and Jacob Pepper are back in the squad while Andrew Hoole returns from international duty. Creative midfielder Marcos Flores, who has seen little game time this season, is also finally in the mix and likely to play in behind striker Edson Montano. The proposed changes are a clear indication from Stubbins of the need for a shake-up within the playing group following the heartless effort against Brisbane. But losing Griffiths, arguably the side's best player this season, would not have been part of his planning and is a big blow. Griffiths picked up an infection in his foot that has seen him miss the bulk of training this week and has been on antibiotics in a bid to clear it up. But he has been unable to even get a boot on his foot and on Friday was considered next to no chance of recovering in time to play. Assistant coach Clayton Zane admitted his side faced a real challenge against a Wanderers side he labelled a "caged lion" following their winless start to the A-League season. "We are playing a team that also finds themselves in a very difficult situation at present so it's not a bad time to go down and take on the might of West Sydney Wanderers," he said. But we know what they can bring to the table when they are in form and they are a bit of a caged lion at the moment. Originally published as Foot infection set to sideline Griffiths