Socceroo star Tom Rogic has been ruled out of the Asian Cup in the latest injury setback for the young playmaker.
Rogic was devastated after missing the final World Cup selection due to his ongoing groin injury and set his sights on a return for the January tournament on home soil.
Coach Ange Postecoglou on Wednesday announced his squad for next month’s international friendly matches against the UAE and Qatar, in which Rogic was left out.
Postecoglou confirmed the talented 21-year-old Celtic attacker had once again gone under the knife and would not be available for the Asian Cup.
“Tommy’s had a little bit of a set back and I understand he’s had to have another operation which will mean another lengthy absence,” the coach said.
“So that probably rules him out of Asian Cup calculation. 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 getting me regular updates.
“It’s disappointing for him obviously because he wants to get back playing.”
Postecoglou has always rated Rogic highly, saying he would be a “leading light” for the Socceroos.
But Postecoglou insisted the national side had to have several options to survive the loss of any key players.
“I certainly don’t want to be in a position where we’re relying on one or two players,” he said.
“Injuries are just part of a footballers’ journey and from our perspective as a national team we just have to protect ourselves so if players get injured we have other options.
“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.
“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.”
Rogic returned to Scottish club Celtic in May after a loan stint at Melbourne Victory, which was also cruelled by injury.
Postecoglou said he wouldn’t make contact with him to see how he was coping with the latest setback, insisting it’s the club’s responsibility to ensure he gets back to full fitness.
“We’ll certainly provide him with all the support we can but from my perspective, we’ve got a lot of footballers who are injured at the moment,” he said.
“It’s not about me trying to console players who are missing out. They’ve got club coaches. Their focus should be on their club and beyond that when they’re playing regularly they’ll come onto my radar.”
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