Tim Cahill set to start for City against arch enemy Victory in Melbourne derby at Etihad Stadium

TIM Cahill has made just one start for City since leaving China, but coach John van ’t Schip has dropped a strong hint the Socceroo star will make his debut this weekend.

Tim Cahill will make his long awaited debut for Melbourne City this weekend

MELBOURNE City coach John van ’t Schip dropped a strong hint that Tim Cahill will start in Saturday’s Melbourne derby.

Cahill only returned to City training on Thursday after 12 days in camp with the Socceroos, where he made two brief substitute appearances.

His only start since leaving Chinese side Huangzhou Greentown was a 62-minute appearance in the FFA Cup quarter-final win over Western Sydney on September 21 at AAMI Park.

Van’t Schip would make a final call after the side’s final training session, but the scene appeared set for a Cahill start against his new arch enemy Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium.

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“We have one more session, he came in yesterday, we did well last week so there’s a few things we’re looking at,’’ van’t Schip said.

“Tim is physically in good condition, the only thing we have to look at is managing him and see how far he can come.

“That could be 90 minutes, that could be 60 minutes, we just have to see.

“That’s in general how we have to work with a lot of players, especially Tim. He’s had an interrupted pre-season coming from China, he went back to the (United) States.

Tim Cahill will make his long awaited debut for Melbourne City this weekend

“Then he travelled with Socceroos, so didn’t get a lot of training hours and game time as he would have if he stayed here, but that’s part of being involved in the Socceroos and it’s good for us and good for Tim.

“We’re not worried about that. He’s going to have an impact for sure.

“I don’t see the difference between starting or coming in, it’s more about good understanding of where he is during the game. He’s a professional so he knows his body.’’

Originally published as Tim Cahill set to start for City against arch enemy Victory in Melbourne derby at Etihad Stadium