In lead-up to Sunday night’s match with the Wanderers, Manager Arthur Papas gave an update on some of the players who have recently been unavailable.
Fans can breathe a sigh of relief for veteran Jason Hoffman after his scans showed no sign of major injury to adductor.
Hoffman left the field after 15 minutes against the Mariners, but Papas expects him to return shortly.
“He actually recovered really well,” Papas said.
“We’re quite fortunate… He copped a knock on the hip and it’s displaced it a little, but the good thing is it’s not really a muscular issue so he’s in a position to still play this week.
“He made a decision that if he wasn’t’ 100% in a derby match, it’d be best not to continue because of how ferocious a derby match is and how intense it is as well.”
Similarly, fellow defender Dylan Murnane is set to feature soon as he’s returned to regular training after overcoming a slight niggle.
While he will make his club debut shortly, Spanish midfielder Mario Arques still has question marks over his fitness.
“Dylan is definitely back in the reckoning this week,” Papas said.
“He was probably okay to play last week. I know it was a derby match, but we’re looking at a whole season, not just one match and we want to have as many available as possible.
“Mario – we will see over the next few sessions.”
While not experiencing any injury, Lucas Mauragis returned to the squad this week after spending the past two weeks in quarantine upon his return to Australia.
Mauragis was part of the recent Australian Olyroos camp, making his debut in their U23 AFC Asian Cup qualifying win.
“Lucas is in the same boat as the majority of the players who went through a two-week quarantine,” Papas said.
“It’s very difficult to come out and be exactly where you want to be physically, especially now that the league has started as well.
“We’ll just keep persevering to progress him and hopefully it’s sooner than later.
“The positive is that we pretty much have everyone available which speaks a lot about the program and staff because we’re playing a very high intensity style.”
