Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou will start veteran frontman Tim Cahill when Australia faces Tajikistan in a World Cup qualifier in that country's troubled capital, Dushanbe, on Tuesday night.
The Australia coach is mindful of the impact the extensive travel has had on players. Door to door the squad was on the road for 24 hours as it travelled between Perth, where it beat Bangladesh 5-0, and the Tajik capital, where it landed on Saturday afternoon.
He is also concerned that the artificial surface on which this game will be played, with its hard underlay, could damage bruised and tired limbs, especially those who took any sort of knock in the easy win over the Bangladeshis. 
Centre-back Matt Spiranovic has a cold and walked laps of the Republican Central Stadium while his teammates worked on sharpness drills at the match venue the day after they arrived.
"Today will be our first solid hitout, Postecoglou said on Monday. "The information I am getting from medical team and sports science staff is that everyone is ready to go."
Alex Wilkinson could replace Spiranovic. He took no part in the match against Bangladesh.
Cahill sat on the bench for all but the last half-hour of the win in Perth and his experience, know-how and priceless ability to score goals at critical times should help in a hostile environment with vocal home fans roaring on their team.
Tom Rogic showed in WA that he can, as many have long hoped, be an important creative asset for Australia in the future. But he, too, has a fragile body and the coach may be tempted to make a change given he played an hour in Perth.
Still, Rogic could also cause the Tajiks plenty of problems, so a decision on his starting role may be made late in the day. Postecoglou might also want to bring in another experienced hand in midfield, which could give veteran Matty McKay an opportunity, perhaps at the expense of Aaron Mooy. Much will depend on Rogic's role.
Postecoglou says the artificial surface presents a challenge that an international team rarely faces.
"Ultimately we would still rather be playing on turf. It won't mean we adjust the way we play. But it might affect team selection, it will just depend on how guys have pulled up and if there is anyone who is sore from the first game it will make sense not to expose them to that kind of surface again."
While the coach rested Tim Cahill against Bangladesh, he certainly doesn't regard him as a back number used best off the bench.
"No, absolutely not. I think if he starts on Tuesday he can be a very effective weapon for us. I don't think there will be wholesale changes. There are likely to be at least two or three."
Having put Bangladesh to the sword, Postecoglou is keen for Australia to impose itself on the Tajiks right from the outset. "The challenge for us in this game will be can we dominate away from home as we did at home? That's what we will try to do, so that people and opposition teams understand that whoever we play against and where we play, that's going to be our intent and their job is going to be to try to stop us."
The experience of the game against neighbouring Kyrgysztan in   June - in similar conditions - will prove invaluable, the coach believes.
"In Kyrgysztan the atmosphere was pretty electric and pretty hostile, and we had to deal with it. This one will be the same but again that's really good practice for us. To be able to use that as energy for us rather than be intimidated by that.
"We are going to have some really difficult away trips moving forward, and the more you can expose these guys to these elements the better they will be."