Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos star Ivan Franjic would be hard to replace if ruled out by injury
IF there was one player the Socceroos could ill-afford to lose for the Asian Cup final it was Ivan Franjic. He’s barely put a foot wrong over the last 21 days.
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IF there was one player the Socceroos could ill-afford to lose for the Asian Cup final it was Ivan Franjic.
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He’s barely put a foot wrong, in addition to being the only recognised right-back in the 22-man squad.
If Chris Herd was fit he would’ve got the nod Saturday night if there was any doubt on Franjic.
But Herd (Achilles) was ruled out a fortnight ago, leaving Australia with any replacements as makeshift options.
Franjic’s scan results cleared him of any muscle tears in his groin, leaving him with some chance to feature against South Korea.
He will undergo a fitness test, most likely on gameday, before a call is made by physio Les Gelis and his medical team.
If it was a group game he’d probably be saved, but it’s a final and if he’s at least 90 per cent fit he’ll play.
Coach Ange Postecoglou will either have to start him or rule him out altogether, for it’s too big a risk having him come off the bench.
If he breaks down, that’s two of the three subs used up in a game that could last 130 minutes.
“At this stage I’m not too fussed, the information I’ve got is that he’s a chance and if you hear he’s a chance, to me that’s pretty good odds,’’ Postecoglou said.
“I doubt there’s a footballer left in this tournament who’s 100 per cent, and they’ll play.
“Once they cross that line they’ll give everything they have.’’
Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury or Alex Wilkinson remain the ‘makeshift’ options if Franjic is declared unfit or breaks down.
After starting his A-League career (Sydney FC) as a right-back, Milligan has not played there since 2011 with Japanese club JEF United Chiba.
Sainsbury also made his A-League debut at right-back for Central Coast Mariners, before Alex Wilkinson moved to Asia, allowing him to switch to stopper permanently in 2012.
Wilkinson hasn’t played there since 2005-2006 when Michael Beauchamp and Andrew Clark were the Mariners’ stoppers.
Moving Sainsbury would allow Wilkinson to return to partner Matthew Spiranovic, a pairing Postecoglou would be comfortable with.
But he is delighted with the chemistry between Spiranovic and Sainsbury and would be tempted to stick with it.
Milligan is a safer option, and there’s more depth in midfield, with James Troisi, Mark Bresciano or Matt McKay all capable of coming in.
While Franjic has been a menace with his overlap at the Asian Cup, he or whoever deputises for him will have the toughest defensive job of the night trying to stop South Korea gun Son Heung-min.
“We’ve got some options. We’ll give him a chance to be fit, if not we’ll deal with it then,’’ Postecoglou said.
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos star Ivan Franjic would be hard to replace if ruled out by injury
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