Asian Cup 2015: Mark Milligan in line to replace Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak for Oman

MILE Jedinak’s injury opens the door for Mark Milligan, with the Melbourne Victory captain expected to replace Jedinak in Tuesday night’s clash with Oman.

Socceroos training

MILE Jedinak’s injury opens the door for Mark Milligan to improve on his unenviable record at major tournaments for Australia, with the Melbourne Victory captain expected to replace Jedinak in Tuesday night’s Asian Cup clash with Oman.

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Mark Milligan looks set to replace Mile Jedinak.

His ankle still encased in a moon boot, Jedinak will sit out the game in the hope of being fit to face South Korea next Saturday in Australia’s final group game, after sustaining the injury from an awkward landing in the first half of Friday’s 4-1 win over Kuwait.

With Ange Postecoglou opting not to risk his captain, Milligan is the most likely replacement for the vital screening role in front of the back four that Jedinak has made his own.

Milligan has been hugely unfortunate since his surprise inclusion in the 2006 World Cup squad – not seeing any game time at that tournament or the 2010 World Cup, missing the 2011 Asian Cup and playing in the first game at last year’s World Cup only to suffer a hamstring strain in training and miss the remaining fixtures.

Inclusion on Tuesday would earn him only his fourth appearance from at a major tournament, but Postecoglou has to decide whether other changes are warranted with an eye to saving players for the tie with Korea and anticipated games in the knockout stages.

Tommy Oar and Nathan Burns are both pushing hard for a start, though it was being noted on Sunday within the Socceroos camp that the concentration had to be on winning Tuesday night’s game and ensuring a place in the quarterfinals before anything else.

“We’ve decided to rule Mile out of the Oman game after he copped an ankle injury against Kuwait,” said Postecoglou.

“He’s not quite right to play and at this stage of the tournament we are better to give it a few days’ extra rest and we will re-assess where he’s at for the game against Korea.

“While it is not ideal for Mile to miss the game I’m confident we have the players and depth to be able to cover for not having him out there.

“We worked hard on increasing our depth over the last six months leading into the Asian Cup and that has us in a good position to be able to cover for the loss of a player of Mile’s calibre.”

Every other player has reported fit and well after Friday night’s game, allowing Postecoglou to focus on correcting the defensive lapse that meant his side conceding from a setpiece for the third time in two games.

“We have to put Friday night behind us in one sense but at the same time improve on areas we can get better,” said defender Matthew Spiranovic.

“That’s pretty much the focus now: we want to be tough to break down, and certainly not conceding goals from setpieces.

“In a tight game they can be match deciders and we need to get that organisation right, to be a tough team to score against.

“There was a big build up to the Kuwait game, and the boys were pretty pumped – so predictably there were a few early nerves.

“But that’s behind us now and we’re off the mark now with three points, which should give us a lot of confidence to start Tuesday’s game how we’d finished on Friday.”

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Mark Milligan in line to replace Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak for Oman