Maclaren in doubt for Socceroos

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold will be hoping Jamie Maclaren’s two-goal performance for Melbourne City doesn’t come at a cost.

Melbourne City’s Jamie Maclaren is congratulated by teammate Scott Galloway after scoring a goal against Brisbane Strikers Picture: AAP

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold will be hoping Jamie Maclaren’s two-goal FFA Cup semi-final performance for Melbourne City doesn’t come at a cost for his country.

The striker notched a brace and set up another as City eased past Brisbane Strikers 5-1 at Perry Park on Tuesday evening to reach their second FFA Cup final.

But after the match City coach Erick Mombaerts revealed Maclaren had been struggling with a knee injury in the days before the game and it had been a last-minute call to play the 26-year-old.

Mombaerts said whether Maclaren is fit to be selected for Australia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Taiwan will depend on how he recovers from the match on Wednesday.

Arnold is set to name his 23-man squad on Thursday for the matches in Canberra on October 10 and Kaohsiung on October 15.

“I can’t answer,” Mombaerts said when asked after the Cup win if Maclaren would be fit for an international call-up.

“We’ll see tomorrow how his knee responds … maybe we have to prepare the team to play without Jamie.” Arnold is expected to stick with largely the same squad which got the qualifying campaign off to a flying start with a 3-0 win in Kuwait last month.

Celtic’s Tom Rogic has been granted a leave pass for his impending marriage and to continue his recovery from off-season knee surgery.

Hull City defender Callum Elder was expected to get a call-up but a calf injury looks like it has scuppered his chances of a Socceroos debut. If Maclaren is ruled out it will put increased importance on Adam Taggart, who toiled hard against Kuwait without reward but will be hoping to fill his boots against the Group B minnows.

Star European-based players such as goalkeeper Mathew Ryan and goalscorers from the Kuwait match Aaron Mooy and Mathew Leckie will be selected but Mooy and Leckie may not start both games as Arnold looks to give his fringe players a chance to shine.

Nepal were thrashed 7-0 by Kuwait in their group opener but rebounded to post a 2-0 win over Taiwan, who are bottom of the group having lost their first two matches.

AAP