Sydney FC coach Steve Corica happy with side’s progress despite horror run with injuries

It’s Sydney FC’s own version of ER, an overflowing casualty ward that has tested coach Steve Corica to the limit and cost more than 80 games in lost man hours.

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It’s Sydney FC’s own version of ER, an overflowing casualty ward that has tested coach Steve Corica to the limit in his first season in charge.

Defender Ben Warland’s ACL rupture, confirmed on Tuesday, adds to a lengthy injury toll for the Sky Blues which has included three ACL injuries and cost more than 80 games in lost man hours.

Two significant themes emerge from the list of injuries — that five significant injuries have come from contact with the opposition, and that soft tissue injuries have afflicted several players newly arrived at the club.

Though Corica hopes to have marquee Siem De Jong and winger Danny de Silva back to face Brisbane on Friday week, the injuries have disrupted Sydney’s season at every turn from the start.

Sydney FC defender Ben Warland ruptured his ACL against Melbourne City on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

With last season’s two most influential players leaving suddenly in the off-season, one marquee having missed exactly half the season, the striker who scored four times in the FFA Cup out for the whole season and the club’s most promising defender suffering two serious injuries, Corica admits he is quietly pleased to have directed the Sky Blues to second place with five rounds left.

“Players come and go, you always understand that, but we weren’t expecting to lose Adrian Mierzejewski and Bobo when we were planning for this season,” Corica said.

“Then the way Trent Buhagiar started the FFA Cup, he would have been very hard to leave out of the team, he was scoring for fun.

Sydney FC striker Trent Buhagiar did his knee before the start of the season. Picture: Getty Images

‘The way you play has to be a bit different then, and Alex Brosque has had to play a much bigger role than we thought.

“But it shows we’ve got the depth, and it’s been good to see players get an opportunity that ordinarily they might not have.”

Warland’s absence will be felt keenly in the back four, having returned from a broken foot to displace import Jop van der Linden and Aaron Calver with a series of assured performances at the heart of defence.

Calver or Jacob Tratt will be the immediate beneficiary, but Corica has told his players as a group that the injuries should be a motivation rather than a millstone around their necks.

Striker Bobo was an unexpected off-season departure. Picture: AAP

“I spoke to the boys today, and reminded them that we’ve had a season before (2015-16) when we had three ACL injuries, and I don’t think we made the top six that year,” he said.

“So I’m extremely happy with how things have been going, given I don’t think we’ve ever had what you might term our best team on the pitch all season.

“We could have been in an even better position, but I’m not unhappy at what we’ve achieved. If we can get Siem and Danny back for the past five games of the A-League and the rest of the ACL campaign, I’m confident we can go on to achieve things.”