The imminent return of young gun Michael Zullo has further buoyed a Queensland Roar outfit steeling itself for an A-League premiership tilt.

The teenager was credited as the spark to the Roar’s best A-League season to date but has not been sighted since suffering a thigh injury more than a month ago.

The Roar may not have missed a beat without the exciting 19-year-old, moving to outright second on the A-League ladder just three points behind Central Coast with four rounds left.

And Queensland could find themselves equal top if they beat the Glory in Perth tomorrow and other results go their way this weekend.

However, the Roar will click into another gear with the premiership in their sights when Zullo finally returns in their next-round clash against defending champions Melbourne.

The teenager cranked up training this week and is expected to run out against the Victory – his first game since the Roar’s 0-0 draw with Sydney FC on November 25.

Despite the Roar’s amazing season run, Zullo admitted he had not been the happiest spectator.

“It’s been frustrating of course. The team was on a good run and I was in good form myself (when he got injured), so it was hard to take,” he told reporters.

“I’m still confident that I can come back and play the same way though and in a way it’ll be like making my debut all over again.

“I can’t wait to get back.”

Zullo is jumping out of his skin despite receiving a recent training scare.

“I was a bit worried last week because it was hard to get through training, but Tony (physio Tony Ganter) told me that I should expect some discomfort at that stage of my recovery,” he said.

“It feels a lot better this week though. Running is pain free now and I’ve been kicking the ball which is very encouraging.

“My goal is to be available for selection for the home game against Melbourne in round 19 and then it’s obviously up to the gaffer (coach Frank Farina) whether he decides to select me or not.”

Roar midfielder Massimo Murdocca this week made no secret that Queensland were already thinking about clinching the premiership ahead of Central Coast.

But Murdocca denied the players were getting ahead of themselves, saying they would be wary of the last-placed Perth team that snatched a last gasp 3-3 draw in their last encounter.

“We’ve been looking out for this game for a while so now it’s here we know we really have to be on our game to get the points over there,” he told reporters.

“If we’re not then they’ll punish us because they have quality in their side.

“They’ve got nothing to lose and we’re expecting them to come at us so we have to be very careful.

“Our task is to concentrate and play the way we have been all season.

“We’ve had a good few wins this year and its time to dig deep for another one.”

Perth are last but are buzzing after last round’s 4-2 thrashing of Sydney FC.

© 2007 AAP

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