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Aloisi refusing to give up on injury-ravaged Brisbane's finals hopes

Wouldn't John Aloisi love to have John Aloisi in his squad. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
17th December, 2017
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John Aloisi is refusing to believe Brisbane Roar’s A-League season is shot despite a never-ending injury crisis that he says is forcing him to field players who aren’t fully fit.

The Roar slumped to a 2-1 home loss to Melbourne Victory on Sunday, leaving them in ninth spot on the ladder as the halfway mark of the season approaches.

The 11 players who were unable to take to the field at Suncorp Stadium would have probably beaten the 11 who did.

Among those sidelined were Brett Holman (calf), Eric Bautheac (hamstring), Jade North (groin), Avraam Papadopoulos (suspended), Joey Caletti (foot), Corey Gameiro (illness), Nick D’Agostino (ankle) and Michael Theo (finger).

“If all my players came back, we’d be right up there,” Aloisi said.

“We’re not too far away from fourth spot anyway.

“It’s very close. The top three are a little bit more than everyone else but you have to make top six, and we’ll still be believing we can make top six.

“We will fight and work through it.

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“I don’t think many teams who had 11-plus players out would be able to put on a performance like we did in the second half against probably the best front four in the league.”

The Roar at least regained Danish import Thomas Kristensen, who came off the bench for his first minutes of the season after overcoming a neural hamstring complaint.

But Kristensen’s return came as fellow midfielder Caletti was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot that could see him miss up to three months of action.

“I haven’t got a crystal ball, I don’t know why this is always happening,” Aloisi said.

If there is a silver lining, it’s that youth teamers like Rahmat Akbari and debutant Daniel Leck are being exposed to senior football at a young age.

Aloisi, however, said he was wary of asking too much of them too soon.

Meanwhile, Ivan Franjic and Peter Skapetis – who both played in makeshift positions against Victory – came off with injury concerns.

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While Skapetis should be OK for Thursday’s clash against Perth Glory, an underdone Franjic suffered a thigh strain that could see him miss out.

“Sometimes we are risking a player that’s not fully fit because we’ve got no players,” Aloisi said.

The only other Roar players likely to return against the Glory are Gameiro and D’Agostino, while Luke DeVere played an hour in the youth league on the weekend to begin his comeback from a long-term knee injury.

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