Melbourne Victory ace Bruno Fornaroli could miss derby due to hand injury

Melbourne Victory will do what’s ‘right’ by Bruno Fornaroli in deciding whether he plays against Melbourne City in Saturday night’s derby.

Bruno Fornaroli is in doubt for the Melbourne derby. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Melbourne Victory are sweating on the availability of Bruno Fornaroli for Saturday night’s derby at AAMI Park after the star striker had surgery on a fractured hand.

The veteran Socceroos marksman suffered the injury in the Victory’s 1-0 loss to Macarthur FC last weekend but played the entire match.

Fornaroli had a “procedure” on Tuesday, and the risk of infection has Victory coach Tony Popovic cautious about him playing in the derby.

“We’re just waiting for that wound to heal,” Popovic said.

“We think he’s a chance. He’s working, but we have benne avoiding contact. If he can handle contact, there’s no reason why he can’t play.

“It’s not that we fear refracturing, it’s more that the wound heals from the procedure. We’ve got to make sure … there’s not threat of infection. We’ve got to do the right thing by him.”

Fornaroli’s absence would be a massive blow to the Victory’s chances of returning to winning ways, with the Uruguay-born ace having already scored 13 goals in just 11 A-League appearances this season.

That’s six more goals than reigning Golden Boot, City striker Jamie Maclaren, who has scored seven times in 16 games this season.

Maclaren is on a barren run, having failed to score in his past six A-League matches.

Not since 2015 has the 30-year-old sharpshooter gone that long without finding the back of the net in the national competition.

Victory striker Bruno Fornaroli (right) could miss the Melbourne derby. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

City coach Aurelio Vidmar said Maclaren was “working hard trying to get through it”.

“Everyone knows Jamie well,” Vidmar said.

“He’s a confidence player. He’s a confident guy anyway, naturally, so eventually he’s going to have to bounce back.”

City’s chances of bouncing back from last Saturday’s embarrassing 5-1 loss to Brisbane Roar won’t be helped by the ongoing absence of star playmaker Tolgay Arslan.

The 33-year-old German midfielder has been hit with a three-game ban after being sent off for using “offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures against a match official” in his side’s 4-2 loss to Perth on February 2.

Having served the first game of the ban last Saturday, Arslan will also miss the derby and City’s clash on Saturday week against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.

Vidmar said City had to better in keeping possession against Victory, with seven of the nine goals they had conceded in their past two matches coming after they had given the ball away.

“We’ve been absolutely smashed on the turnovers,” he said.

“It’s a balance of being prepared and ready on the turnovers, but also you’re putting players in positions for the next pass or the next moment. We’ve really got to be better at not turning the ball over.”

Victory coach Popovic said the derby was a “special game” and that the previous week’s results would have little bearing on “what happens next”.

“On paper it’s a very formidable Melbourne City line-up, and certainly they have a lot of options in attack,” Popovic said.

“I’m sure there’ll be a reaction from them, and … with our result (against Macarthur), I’m sure there’ll be a reaction from us.”

Originally published as Melbourne Victory ace Bruno Fornaroli could miss derby due to hand injury