Western Sydney Wanderers custodian Lawrence Thomas unlikely to be fit for first-round derby against Sky Blues

With the start of the A-League season and a Sydney derby looming, an injured Wanderers star is running out of time to prove his fitness.

Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas is racing against the clock to be fit for Saturday week’s highly anticipated derby against Sydney FC as he continues to battle an ankle injury.

The derby at CommBank Stadium looms at the highlight of the opening round of the A-League season, with the competition’s two highest-profile new recruits – Western Sydney’s Juan Mata and the Sky Blues’ Douglas Costa – set to go head-to-head.

Thomas is desperate to play in the match but concedes he’s a slim chance at best after injuring his ankle several weeks ago during a training session.

“I wouldn’t entirely rule it out that I’ll be fit for the derby, but at the moment it’s not looking too likely,” the 32-year-old gloveman and one-time Socceroo said.

“At least having a long pre-season has helped me because I shouldn’t miss too many A-League games.”

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Should, as expected, Thomas miss the derby, off-season recruit, former Brisbane Roar keeper Jordan Holmes, is likely to deputise, while 21-year-old Tristan Vidackovic is another option after playing in the Wanderers’ 2-1 Australia Cup quarter-final loss to Adelaide United last month.

“Hopefully, they’re making the decision hard about who’s going to start the season if I’m not fit,” said Thomas, who added there was a “fantastic” feeling at the club since the appointment of coach Alen Stajcic in June.

“We have a new style of playing, some new players … I’m looking forward to a big season and we’ll see how it unfolds.

“We’ll get a real gauge of where we’re at in the first three or four games of the season.”

Thomas was confident the Wanderers would get the best out of 36-year-old Mata, the Spanish veteran who starred for Chelsea and Manchester United in the English Premier League.

“We need to be controlling games because the more we can get him on the ball in good areas, the more he’s going to hurt teams,” Thomas said.

“What we don’t want is an open, transition, end-to-end game. We obviously want him to do most of his work in front of the goal that we’re attacking rather than defending.

“He has a lot of quality.”

Originally published as Western Sydney Wanderers custodian Lawrence Thomas unlikely to be fit for first-round derby against Sky Blues