Tom Rogic’s World Cup place is in doubt after picking up another injury in a friendly match against Brazilian club sideĀ Clube Parana.
The Celtic midielder suffered two first half injuries before being replaced a half-time.
The Socceoos have still to name their final squad with fears growing that Rogic could be one of the four players axed when coachĀ Ange Postecoglou Ā names his 23 man squad for the finals.
After the set-back Postecoglou’s assistantĀ Aurelio Vidmar said: “
“He hasnāt played in quite a while so youāve got to remember most of these guys havenāt played for quite a while and theyāve had a pretty heavy load over the last three weeks.Tommy was in the camp in the beginning of May in Adelaide, so heās had some extra work as well, he just needs to find a little bit of rhythm.
āAs I said it was pretty hard out there, tough conditions. It was an important hit-out for everyone. He was probably frustrated because he didnāt get too much of the ball and they closed him pretty sharply today so youāve got to try and find your rhythm and when youāre not in match rhythm itās a bit difficult but he put himself out there and tried to do his best.
”For me heās certainly a very special player, heās young, heās got a lot to learn but heās one of those that, in a second, can turn a game for you. So all of those considerations will be up for debate tonight.(when the team management decides which four players to cull).
āHeās got a level head on his shoulders so thereās been a lot of talk over the last year or two that heās the nest massive player coming out of Australia but heās still got a lot of work to do. Heās young, he knows what his capabilities are, heās a very good player and the more game time he has the better heāll become.
āWeāve seen a massive improvement from the early days when he was at Central Coast to where he is now so thereās no doubt that the more games he plays the better and stronger he will become and the more influential he will be for our team.”
Speaking before he match against Clube Parana, Rogic said: “Iām not the first person to have an injury to deal with so you just cop it on the chin and do your best to manage it and overcome it.
“Iām doing everything I can everyday to do that, and I feel as long as I keep working hard Iām headed in the right direction but itās been frustrating at times.
“Iāve missed two sessions in the four weeks of the camp since it started in Adelaide. So Iām happy with how itās going, itās just a bit of management with my load which is the same with a few people. Itās just the way it is.
“Of course (Iām confident of playing a part), thatās why Iām here. Every player wants to play a part but itās not up to me, the decision comes down to Ange so weāll wait and see what the plans are.ā”