Socceroos star Ajdin Hrustic is in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup in Qatar after an ankle injury was confirmed by his Italian club Hellas Verona.
Hrustic was a lock to be included in coach Graham Arnold’s final squad having been arguably Australia’s best player over the course of the qualifying campaign.
The midfielder moved from German club Eintracht Frankfurt to Verona and was part of the starting side in last weekend’s 2-1 loss against AC Milan in the Serie A before suffering the injury.
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Hellas Verona confirmed the 26-year-old had avoided surgery but was still expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
With the World Cup kicking off in Qatar in one month, Hrustic could struggle to be ready for the Socceroos’ group stage opener against France on November 23.
Arnold will first have to name a preliminary list of up to 55 players by this Friday and has some decisions to make after Hrustic’s injury. He will then need to finalise a 26-man group no later than November 14.
He may also have to consider star defender Harry Souttar, who made his return from an ACL injury earlier this week for Stoke City’s under-21s.
The Socceroos boss is also keeping a close eye on several young A-League stars who have caught his attention.
He said it was important to take players that were fit and firing to Qatar.
“The younger players are really stepping up and giving me something to think about,” he told SEN.
“All I can do is keep watching and make sure that when we do go to this World Cup, we’ve got the players that are fit enough and ready enough to back up every three days and be there for their performance.”
Australia has been placed in Group D alongside France, Tunisia and Denmark.