Coach Ange Postecoglou isn’t fazed by several passengers carrying niggling injuries on the Socceroos’ flight to Brazil.
The Australian squad depart Sydney on Wednesday with captain Mile Jedinak among a batch of players with ailments.
Jedinak is confident he’ll soon overcome his groin strain while key midfielders Mark Bresciano (back) and Tom Rogic (groin), and defenders Matthew Spiranovic (ankle) and Ivan Franjic (knee), are also less than fully fit.
But Postecoglou expects all to feature in Australia’s World Cup campaign, which starts against Chile on June 13.
Postecoglou will take 27 players to Brazil, with four to be cut when final squads are named on June 2.
“We’re going to be working the players pretty hard so you just don’t know how people are going to cope,” Postecoglou said.
“To say that I have got 23 in my mind – no, I don’t, because at this point we need all 27.”
New captain Jedinak hoped to soon join his teammates on the pitch.
“It’s coming along quite well,” he said of a groin strain suffered a fortnight ago.
“With a gradual build-up over the next few days and once we’re in Brazil, hopefully at some stage in the not too distant future I will join up with the team.”
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