Mooy out, Leckie a doubt as Socceroos Asian Cup hopes take a hit

The Socceroos have suffered a double blow ahead of the AFC Asian Cup, with midfield star Aaron Mooy losing his protracted fitness battle and key attacker Mathew Leckie likely to miss the group stage in the UAE.

Mooy

Source: AAP

A thorough assessment of Mooy’s medial collateral ligament injury has confirmed he will not be fit enough to play any part in the tournament, as first flagged by his Premier League club Huddersfield 12 days ago.

Leckie, who suffered a hamstring strain playing for Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga over the weekend, will jet in to camp in Dubai for intensive treatment which - should Australia progress - have him primed for the knock-out rounds which begin on January 20.

It’s understood both developments will be confirmed by Football Federation Australia on Monday night, with coach Graham Arnold looking at his options regarding Mooy’s absence in particular.

He can bring in a like-for-like replacement in the form of Melbourne Victory’s Terry Antonis, who is believed to already be on a 10-strong standby list and was on the books at Sydney FC when Arnold was in charge, or James Jeggo.

Or he could opt to bring in another striker - possibly a reprieve for Tomi Juric - and push the versatile Mark Milligan into midfield calculations from his position as one of the stoppers.

The Socceroos’ hierarchy went to great lengths to determine the full extent of Mooy’s injury, even deploying head physio Phil Coles to Yorkshire to view his scans, and liaise with the player and his club. An independent medical assessment was also provided.

But it all looks to have been in vain, with plans to get the 28-year-old linchpin up to speed for the knock-out phase ultimately being derailed.

Arnold has also been mired in a club versus country war with Scottish Premiership clubs Celtic and Hibernian, who want Tom Rogic, Milligan, Martin Boyle and Jamie Maclaren available for their respective Glasgow and Edinburgh derbies on December 30, three days after they are due to arrive in Dubai on national team duty.

FFA are disinclined to budge on the issue with head of performance Luke Casserly pointing out that players and their clubs have already been shown largesse.

FFA could have enforced the tournament rules by insisting the entire squad was assembled by Christmas Eve, but allowed them time to spend with family on Christmas Day and the opportunity to play on Boxing Day.


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3 min read
Published 24 December 2018 12:24pm
By Dave Lewis

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