Ankle injury forces midfielder Massimo Luongo out of Socceroos squad

An A-League veteran has a chance to make his Socceroos debut after injuries, including an ankle problem that has sidelined Massimo Luongo, forced changes to Australia’s 26-man squad for games against China and Japan.

Massimo Luongo’s comeback from international retirement is on hold after he was ruled out of the Socceroos squad to meet China and Japan due to an ankle injury.

Luongo, 32, was last week named by new Socceroos coach Tony Popovic in a 26-man national squad, having again made himself available for selection after retiring from international football last year.

However, Luongo took no part in his English Premier League club Ipswich Town’s 4-1 loss to West Ham on Sunday morning (AEDT), with his injured ankle also now forcing to him miss Australia’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers against China (Thursday, Adelaide Oval) and Japan (October 15, Saitama).

Also ruled out of the squad with a leg injury is Germany-based midfielder Connor Metcalfe, who didn’t play for St. Pauli in the Bundesliga club’s 3-0 loss to Mainz on Sunday morning.

Replacing Luongo and Metcalfe are midfield pair Luke Brattan and Patrick Yazbek.

Macarthur FC’s Brattan, who at 34 has the chance to make his first appearance for the

Macarthur FC midfielder Luke Brattan has been called into the Socceroos squad. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

Socceroos, lifts the A-League representation in the squad to five players.

Yazbek, who plays his club football for US Major League Soccer club Nashville, has one Socceroos cap to his name, having made his debut in Australia’s 5-0 win over Lebanon in March.

Socceroos: Daniel Arzani, Keanu Baccus, Aziz Behich, Jordy Bos, Luke Brattan, Cameron Burgess, Thomas Deng, Mitchell Duke, Joe Gauci, Jason Geria, Craig Goodwin, Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda, Jackson Irvine, Paul Izzo, Riley McGree, Lewis Miller, Aiden O’Neill, Kye Rowles, Mat Ryan, Sam Silvera, Harry Souttar, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Gianni Stensness, Nishan Velupillay, Patrick Yazbek.

Originally published as Ankle injury forces midfielder Massimo Luongo out of Socceroos squad