First-choice Socceroos striker Mitch Duke’s Asian Cup campaign is in jeopardy due to a hamstring injury that will rule him out of Australia’s clash with Uzbekistan on Tuesday night.
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold revealed that Duke suffered the hamstring strain in Australia’s 1-0 win over Syria last Thursday in Doha.
While the 33-year-old centre-forward didn’t seem hampered when he was replaced in the 78th minute by veteran marksman Bruno Fornaroli, scans later revealed what Arnold described as a “small strain”.
“It’ll be one game at a time for him, but we’ll see where that lands over the next week,” Arnold said in announcing Duke’s injury.
“He had a scan, and he’s got a small strain, so he’ll be out (of the game against Uzbekistan), so that’ll be an opportunity for me to have a look at other players as well, and against good opposition, it’ll be a great test.”
Fornaroli, the 36-year-old Uruguay-born forward who been in scintillating form this season for Melbourne Victory, seems likely to come into the starting team, having twice come off the bench during the tournament to replace Duke.
Portsmouth marksman Kusini Yengi is also an option, while SV Wehen Wiesbaden striker John Iredale is the other centre-forward in Australia’s 26-man squad.
“There’ll be a few changes, but I don’t think there’s much difference in the depth of our squad now,” Arnold said.
“If you make changes, the team will still be strong and very strong. I do expect that we’re going out there to win the game.
“Uzbekistan are coming along a lot as a country. They invest a lot of money in football and they’re a good side, but we’ll be ready for them.”
Another likely change to Australia’s team that started against Syria is the inclusion of attacking midfielder Riley McGree, who has impressed as a substitute in the Socceroos’ past two matches in his comeback from a foot injury he suffered in October while playing for his English Championship club Middlesbrough.
“Riley was short of a bit of game time when he came in (to camp), but he’s had two lots of 35-40 minutes and he’s looked very good when he’s come on,” Arnold said.
“He’s sharp, he’s fresh and it’s probably now time for him to have a start, get out there and try to get through 60, 70 minutes and we build for the round of 16.”
Regardless of Tuesday night’s result, the Socceroos are guaranteed a spot in the knockout stages.
However, avoiding a loss to Uzbekistan will ensure the Australians top Group B, which will given them a potentially easier round-of-16 opponent.
“It was our goal right from the start to top the group, and with high expectations, if you don’t reach for the stars, you’ll never achieve anything in life,” Arnold said.
“It’s up to us to get out there with our mindset, our workrate and our commitment and culture that we’ve got to do a great job for all of us.”
AFC Asian Cup
Group B
Australia v Uzbekistan
Tuesday, 10.30pm (AEDT)
Al Janoub Stadium, Doha
TV: Network 10
Possible Socceroos line-up: Mat Ryan, Gethin Jones, Cameron Burgess, Harry Souttar, Jordan Bos, Jackson Irvine, Keanu Baccus, Riley McGree, Martin Boyle, Bruno Fornaroli, Craig Goodwin.
Head-to-head
September 10, 2008: Uzkekistan 0-1 Australia (FIFA World Cup qualifier in Tashkent)
April 1, 2009: Australia 2-0 Uzbekistan (FIFA World Cup qualifier in Sydney)
January 25, 2011: Uzbekistan 0-6 Australia (AFC Asian Cup in Qatar)
January 21, 2019: Australia 0 (4) – 0 (2) Uzbekistan (AFC Asian Cup in UAE)