The Newcastle Jets have named a 19-man squad to take on Perth Glory at Ausgrid Stadium this Saturday.
The Newcastle Jets have named a 19-man squad to take on Perth Glory at Ausgrid Stadium this Saturday.
Kasey Wehrman returns to the squad after being rested last weekend, and while Jobe Wheelhouse has been named this week following a one-game suspension, the Jets skipper is in doubt to play on Saturday afternoon due to a foot infection.
“Jobe did not respond to the initial treatment given to him and as been admitted into hospital and the infection is still not clearing up,” van Egmond said.
If Wheelhouse does not recover in time, van Egmond may call upon Jacob Pepper or Labinot Haliti to fill his spot in the midfield.
Marko Jesic has also been recalled to the squad this week but the coach is yet to determine if the young defender is ready to make his return to the A-League competition.
“I still think Marko is a little bit away from making his return, at the moment he is still a little bit underdone from the injuries he has suffered and he has had a lack of game time,” van Egmond explained.
“He has only had one full Youth game so I think this weekend-s game may be a little bit early for him.”
Taylor Regan may find himself with a starting spot, with van Egmond considering sitting Nikolai Topor-Stanley out.
“I think it is time that Taylor steps in and we probably need to give Nikolai a rest,” he added.
“Taylor well and truly deserves his spot and has been very patient this season.
“Nikolai is just a little bit down on form and it is going to be a case of him working hard on the training pitch to regain his previous form.”
Van Egmond and Bob Catlin are yet to decide who will start at goals this weekend.
“Ben (Kennedy) wasn-t what you would call fantastic last weekend but he didn-t get a great deal of help either,” van Egmond said.
“Both Ben and Nashy (Matt Nash) have been working hard and have both been putting their hands up to play.”
Newcastle Jets squad to take on Perth Glory: 1. Ben Kennedy (gk), 2. Taylor Regan, 4. Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 5. Tiago Calvano , 6. Ben Kantarovski, 7. Kasey Wehrman 8. Jeremy Brockie, 9. Michael Bridges 10. Ruben Zadkovich, 11. Tarek Elrich, 12. Jobe Wheelhouse (c) ,13. Sung-Hwan Byun, 14. Labinot Haliti, 18. Marko Jesic ,19. Matthew Nash, 22. Ali Abbas, 23. Ryan Griffiths, 24. Francis Jeffers, 25. Jacob Pepper.
