Sydney, Jan 7 – Australian men’s football captain and first-choice goalkeeper Mat Ryan is in doubt for the early stages of the Socceroos’ Asian Cup campaign.
Graham Arnold, head coach of the Socceroos, on Sunday said that Ryan, 31, is touch-and-go for Australia’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup opener against India on January 13 due to a fractured cheekbone sustained in training with Dutch club side AZ Alkmaar in December, reports Xinhua.
Ryan has joined Socceroos’ training in the lead-up to the tournament in Qatar but did not feature in their final friendly against Bahrain in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, with 23-year-old Joe Gauci starting in goal and keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
Arnold told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) after the match that Ryan’s fitness for the opening tournament game was uncertain but praised the captain’s leadership in training.
“He’s training fully and it’s great to have him here, obviously, for his experience,” Arnold said.
“He had a great conversation with Joe Gauci today about playing for the nation, but also this experience and it was good.”
Ryan is the most experienced player in the Socceroos’ 26-player AFC Asian Cup squad with 86 international caps and, along with defender Aziz Behich, one of only two members who were part of the squad that won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup at home.
Arnold described the win over Bahrain as the perfect fixture for the Socceroos ahead of the tournament to prepare for teams he anticipates will sit back and defend.
Following the opening game against India the Socceroos will face Syria on January 18 and Uzbekistan on January 23, with the top two teams in group B to automatically qualify for the round of 16.
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