The Wellington Phoenix men will be missing a large number of their regular starting players for tomorrow's pre-season wrangle with Welsh side Wrexham

Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano says he'll field a "younger team" in the first half against Wrexham - then "essentially the academy" in the second half.

Injuries are partly to blame ... Nix captain Alex Rufer will sit out the marquee meeting against the glamour English Championship outfit, with their Hollywood ownership, due to an unspecified injury on All Whites duty ... Rufer is out til early August.

A groin niggle is keeping defender Corban Piper out for even longer - Piper's not set to feature until the end of September.

Goalkeeper Alby Kelly-Heald won't be fully fit until then either, while back Tim Payne has an Achilles aggravation and is out for a couple more weeks.