Tom Rogic will miss out when the Socceroos host next year’s Asian Cup after receiving news his troublesome groin injury requires surgery.
Australian coach Ange Postecoglou announced Thursday that Rogic’s groin injury has sustained another setback and the young midfielder is now expected to miss significant time. The Celtic player has been out of action since a pre-World Cup injury kept him off the Socceroos squad for Brazil.
“Tommy (Rogic) has had a little bit of a setback. He needs an operation, which probably rules him out of Asian Cup. He’s set for a lengthy time out,” Postecoglou said at a press conference naming the squad to on UAE and Qatar in upcoming international friendlies.
“He’s still got a fair bit of work to do in rehab.
“Our medical department has been speaking to him and they’ve been giving me regular updates. It’s disappointing for him because he wants to get back playing.”
The 21-year-old returned to Scotland in May following a short stint with Melbourne Victory on loan and will need a long stint of rehab before attempting a comeback.
“To be fair to Tommy he hasn’t been in calculations for quite a while. We tried to get him up for the World Cup but he hasn’t played in the Socceroos’ last six or seven games,” Postecoglou added.
“So I think the best thing for him now is his rehab and getting fit so he can start playing football again and when he does he’ll be back on our radar.”
Another Socceroo with a promising future, Robbie Kruse, returned to action last week for German club Bayer Leverkusen after a knee injury also ended his World Cup dreams. Postecoglou is hoping the 25-year-old can get some minutes into his legs ahead of the Asian Cup, kicking off on January 9 when the Socceroos face Kuwait.
“With Robbie he needs to play,” Postecoglou said.
“Once he gets some game time to get his confidence back as much as anything.
“I don’t want to bring him in if he’s underdone. We’re confident he will play before the Japan game, and if he does he’ll be up for selection.”
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