Ryan injury scare adds to Arnold’s World Cup selection headaches

The Socceroos have been hit with yet another scare on the eve of the World Cup, with skipper Maty Ryan joining an ever-lengthening list of key players entering the tournament under an injury cloud.

Having already lost the battle for FC Copenhagen’s No.1 jersey to teammate Kamil Grabara, Ryan did not even make the bench for the Danish Superliga club in their 3-0 win over Lyngby on Monday morning (AEDT) due to “knee problems”, the club said.

Maty Ryan didn’t make the bench for FC Copenhagen’s last game in the Danish Superliga.Credit: Getty

FC Copenhagen gave no information on the severity of his injury, and Football Australia is yet to provide an update on his status. Sources close to the team suggest it is only a minor issue, and there is hope Ryan could still get in some vital match minutes in one of their two remaining games before the World Cup break.

Even so, it is one more headache Graham Arnold could have done without as he prepares to unveil his 26-man squad for Qatar on Tuesday afternoon. Ajdin Hrustic (ankle), Harry Souttar (knee), Kye Rowles (foot), Martin Boyle (knee), Nathaniel Atkinson (ankle) and Fran Karacic (hamstring) are the other first-choice Socceroos who are either battling niggles, or are yet to build proper match fitness since recovering from injury - far from ideal preparation for a condensed tournament, with only a week to prepare for their first game and three-day turnarounds thereafter.

Arnold has arrived in Doha, where he took in the final weekend of matches at club level across the world with his coaching staff, and will begin the process of informing players if they have made the cut in the next 24 hours, with only a handful of spots believed to be up in the air.

Ryan is considered a near-certainty to be Australia’s starting goalkeeper despite having been shunted out of the first-team at his club recently after an ugly feud with Grabara, who took a public swipe at his ability and said the pair were “not friends” amid a difficult start to the domestic season for FC Copenhagen, the reigning Danish champions.

Andrew Clark, the Socceroos’ former strength and conditioning boss and a long-time colleague of Arnold during his time in the A-League with Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC, joined FC Copenhagen as the club’s high-performance chief earlier this year, and is expected to be part of Australia’s World Cup campaign as an extra assistant coach. That not only ensures the Australian team will have up-to-date, trusted information on Ryan’s fitness, but gives him a familiar face to work with as he conducts his rehab.

While Arnold will have the ability to make any changes to his squad for medical reasons until 24 hours before their opening Group D clash against world champions France on November 23 (AEDT), Ryan’s situation could open the door for Mitch Langerak to play a key role in Qatar if he is still struggling with his knee upon his arrival.

Langerak was recently crowned Nagoya Grampus’ player of the year after another stellar campaign between the sticks in the J1.League, having broken his own record for clean sheets last season, and has played more first-team minutes than any other Australian goalkeeper this season.

The 34-year-old, capped only eight times for Australia in the nine years since his debut, was briefly retired from international football due to Japan’s onerous coronavirus travel restrictions, but made himself available again for Socceroos selection once they were relaxed earlier this year after a personal plea from Arnold.

Content with serving as back-up if required, his terrific form for Japan and Ryan’s recent relegation to the bench at FC Copenhagen has sparked debate among Socceroos fans over who should be starting.

Meanwhile, Rowles finally got on the pitch for Scottish club Heart of Midlothian on Monday, albeit only for the last couple of minutes of their 3-2 win over Motherwell. The 24-year-old, one of the heroes of Australia’s World Cup qualifying win over Peru, had been sidelined since August with a broken metatarsal.

Rowles and Souttar are believed to be Arnold’s preferring starting centre-backs, but the latter has not yet returned to action for Stoke City after recovering from an ACL injury - although he has featured four times for their under-23s team, and could feature on Wednesday morning against Luton Town in the English Championship.

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