Western Sydney coach Tony Popovic is confident Matthew Spiranovic will return a “bigger and better” player after successful surgery on his ankle.
The Socceroos defender went under the knife on Monday and is expected to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks and will miss the club’s ACL quarter-final next month.
He will immediately begin his rehabilitation with Wanderers medical staff in the hope of being ready for the start of the Hyundai A-League season.
“He (Spiranovic) had his operation yesterday and it’s all gone very well,” Wanderers boss Popovic said on Tuesday.
“Now it’s the recovery phase for him. I’m sure he’ll be back bigger and better once he heals from the injury.
“He had a fantastic world cup. He came back very eager and keen to get back with the Wanderers in training with all the big games we’ve got coming up.
“Unfortunately these things happen in football. (Surgery) was necessary, it needed to be done but we will all benefit from the outcome once he gets over this injury.”
In some exciting news for the club, new recruit Romeo Castelen will arrive in Sydney tonight and will immediately get down to training ahead of the ACL clash with Guangzhou Evergrande at Parramatta Stadium on August 20.
“It’s coming very quickly and the players are working very hard,” Popovic said.
“We’re preparing for a quarter final of a Champions League game without playing league games, it’s unique but it’s something we have to deal with and we’ll be the best we can be on that day, that’s for sure.”
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