Injuries and Old Firm schedule play havoc with Socceroos’ preparation

Australia’s Asian Cup hopes have taken another hit with Mathew Leckie in real danger of being ruled out of the tournament.

Mathew Leckie would be an almost certain starter for the Socceroos if fit. Picture: AAP

Australia’s Asian Cup hopes have taken another hit with Mathew Leckie in real danger of being ruled out of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury playing for his club side on Saturday.

Scans later today will determine his fate but there are concerns he could be ruled out for between a month and six weeks.

Playing for Hertha Berlin against Bayer Leverkusen in a German Bundesliga match, Leckie was left writhing in pain and clutching high up his left hamstring after going down in a challenge in the 54th minute.

After treatment he was still clearly in discomfort as he hobbled off the field with assistance from one of the trainers.

It’s not a sight the Socceroos camp or Australian fans wanted to see just two weeks from the opening group match against Jordan in the UAE on January 6.

A classy attacker, Leckie is one of the key players for the national team. He has struck a good run of form with his club, and Socceroos coach Graham Arnold was looking to him to provide the spark in attack for the national team. His injury has now left Arnold with even more to think about with Aaron Mooy also in serious doubt because of injury.

Given their injuries, Mooy and Leckie would likely miss the group stage matches but could be fit for the knockout stage. As with Mooy, Arnold will have to decide whether to keep Leckie in the squad in the hope he can play a role at some stage of the Cup, or call in a ­replacement immediately. He admitted this week he wants the Mooy situation sorted in a few days, and the same could now apply to Leckie.

The latest drama comes on top of revelations of a club versus country conflict involving Tom Rogic and Celtic.

The Scottish club’s manager Brendan Rodgers wants Football Federation Australia to “see sense” and allow Rogic to play against Rangers in the Old Firm game at Ibrox on December 29 ­before he joins the Socceroos in camp. However, FFA is adamant the midfielder must, like the rest of the squad, join the national team after Celtic’s match against Aberdeen on Boxing Day.

“We hope we can find a sensible solution,” Rodgers told BBC Sport.

“At this moment he’s due to play his last game for us away at Aberdeen and then fly out to meet up with the Australian squad on the 27th, so that would mean him missing the last game (before the Premiership winter break).

“That’s not something we’re overly happy about because we want to work in a relationship with the federations. I spoke with ­Graham Arnold here and I had two really good days of trying to ensure relations are good between international teams and club teams. We feel Tom can play and be available for the 29th and fly out after the game and meet up in Dubai on the 30th and still be there virtually a week before he’s due to play his first game.

“Tom wants to play (against Rangers) but he also wants to play for Australia. It’s a position the player doesn’t need to be in.”

Rodgers said Rogic, who played a full game in Celtic’s 3-0 win against Dundee FC on Saturday, has always been made available for national team duty, but that it comes at a cost for the club.

“A lot of the time he’s travelling to the other side of the world to play and we normally forfeit a game when he does come back because of the exertions of travelling across the world, playing for his country, coming back, the tiredness, the fatigue, everything that takes out of him,” he said.