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Star Perth Glory striker Mile Sterjovski has revealed a niggling ankle complaint denied him a dream Socceroos recall earlier this month.
Sterjovski and fellow Glory teammates Jacob Burns and Chris Coyne have been left out in the cold by national coach Pim Verbeek since the trio ended their careers abroad in order to play in the A-League.
But Sterjovski said Verbeek, who has made no secret of his wish for players to remain in tougher overseas leagues, recalled him for the recent Asian Cup qualifier against Oman in Melbourne.
However, Sterjovski had to turn down the offer after damaging his left ankle during Perth’s round 10 win over Adelaide.
“I was disappointed not to be called up (initially for the friendly against the Netherlands),” Sterjovski said on Wednesday.
“But he asked me to come into camp on the Sunday (in preparation for the Asian Cup qualifier) but unfortunately I was injured after the Adelaide game on the Friday.
“That was the most disappointing thing for me because they might have given me a chance to play there.
“But the World Cup’s still a long time away.
“We’ve got plenty of time to make it into the squad and the same kind of thing happened to me last time around and I ended up making the team.
“So I’m not too worried at the moment, the most important thing is to keep playing regularly and to play well and to win games.”
Gold Coast’s Jason Culina and Brisbane’s Craig Moore have been the only A-League players to regularly feature in Verbeek’s plans.
But Sterjovski, who made the last of his 41 Socceroos appearances in the 2-1 World Cup qualifier win over Japan in June, was hopeful that he, Coyne and Burns would have a part to play in the national set-up leading up to the 2010 World Cup.
Sterjovski’s mysterious ankle complaint has sidelined him for the past fortnight but the 30-year-old rated himself a “90 per cent” chance to take on Melbourne Victory at ME Bank Stadium on Sunday.
“I don’t know exactly what it was you know, it’s pretty bizarre,” Sterjovski said of the injury.
While the return of defender Andy Todd from suspension and Sterjovski’s likely inclusion will bolster Perth’s line-up, the club was dealt a blow when in-form Dutchman Victor Sikora was ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring tear.
Melbourne were also dealt a setback on the injury front with confirmation Thai defender Surat Sukha will miss the match with a hamstring injury.
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