Socceroos have no Achilles heel despite skipper's ankle injury

The Socceroos are confident skipper Mile Jedinak doesn’t have a serious ankle injury despite hobbling into Sydney on Saturday in a moon-boot.

Jedinak twisted his left-ankle badly in Friday night’s emphatic 4-1 win over Kuwait in Melbourne to kick-off Australia’s AFC Asian Cup campaign.

The 30-year-old didn’t require scans on the problem, although he will be assessed by medical staff again on Saturday night to decide the best way forward ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Oman.

It’s understood the injury isn’t overly serious although coach Ange Postecoglou and his stay will take no chances with their captain.

When the team arrived at their hotel on Saturday afternoon, the entire squad took the stairs to their rooms except for Jedinak, who used the lift.

“I think it’s just a precaution,” midfielder James Troisi said of the moon-boot on Saturday.

“The medical staff will look after him and hopefully he will be fine.

“He’s our captain and he’s the captain for a reason but we definitely have a lot of players that can fill the spot.”

Jedinak rolled his ankle just before half-time against Kuwait and looked in some discomfort but bravely battled on for the rest of the match.

He scored a vital penalty in the second half which ensured a perfect start to the tournament for the home side.

Asked about the extent of the injury, goal-keeper Mat Ryan said: “I didn’t study physiotherapy at school but from what I’ve heard from the medical staff they will see how it is tomorrow.

“Fingers crossed. Hopefully he doesn’t miss any game time but if he does we have plenty of depth in the side to cover for him.”

Mark Milligan is the most likely replacement for Jedinak if the skipper is not right for Tuesday’s important clash with Oman at Stadium Australia.

The members of the squad that didn’t take part in Friday night’s clash will have a training session on Saturday afternoon at WIN Jubilee Oval in Kogarah, before the entire squad gets a day off on Sunday.

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