Australia defender Matthew Spiranovic, a mainstay of the national side under Ange Postecoglou, was a notable omission from the 30-man squad announced yesterday.
Postecoglou confirmed the 28-year-old suffered a quad injury training with Chinese second-division club Hangzhou Greentown.
Ange on Spiranovic
“He [Spiranovic] picked up an injury in pre-season and he’ll be out for a significant period of time. It’s still not clear the extent but the early signs we have is he’ll be missing for a while. It’s a quad injury but it’s little bit more complicated than that. I don’t know the full extent.”
Spiranovic's Socceroos career
*Has played 37 times for Australia since making his debut in a friendly against Ghana in 2008.
*He played every minute of the Caltex Socceroos’ three matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
*Spiranovic was also a key member of Australia’s 2015 AFC Asian Cup triumph, playing five of the six matches.
The Caltex Socceroos boss announced his 30-man squad on Wednesday for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iraq and UAE.
Caltex Socceroos squad named for Iraq, UAE WCQs
The Caltex Socceroos tackle UAE in a crucial World Cup Qualifier in Sydney on March 28. Click here for tickets