It’s the last thing Sydney FC’s leaky defence needs to hear, but Brisbane star Thomas Broich is set to make his A-League return from a heel injury this Saturday.
Roar coach Ange Postecoglou is optimistic the midfield maestro is ready to end his eight-game hiatus on the sidelines.
Both Broich and striker Henrique (knee) trained strongly on Tuesday and are expected to be included in this weekend’s squad as Brisbane look to heap more misery on a Sky Blues defence which has conceded 11 goals in their past four games.
“They trained really well … they’re a good chance of being involved on the weekend,” Postecoglou said.
“We’ll see how they pull up (on Wednesday). It was a pretty solid session for them. I’m optimistic about it.”
Sky Blues skipper Terry McFlynn says Brisbane’s record without Broich, picking up just one win as they went on a club record five-game losing streak, is proof of the classy German’s influence on their attack.
“The movement which Brisbane Roar have with the front three, and coming through from the midfield as well, gives them a lot of options,” McFlynn told AAP on Tuesday.
“His range of passing and his vision (are his main strengths).
“The ability to pick a player out in key areas of the park is a very special talent which he has.
“(Brisbane) are a very mobile side and obliviously when you’ve got somebody with that kind of range of passing that will hurt you.
“I think over the course of his time in Australia he’s shown himself to be a very talented footballer.
“He brings a lot of attacking options to the Brisbane Roar.”
But McFlynn leapt to the defence of Sydney’s back four, saying their recent scorelines were a problem for the entire lineup.
“It’s not the defence’s fault or any one individual,” he said.
“It’s a collective unit that we’ve got at this club whether that be attacking or defensive.
“We all take full responsibility for the situation we’re in at the minute.”
The defensive midfielder believes last round’s 1-0 loss to Central Coast showed Sydney had started to turn the corner as far as their defence is concerned.
“All we can do is put our heads down and work hard, then hopefully we will turn the corner,” he said.
“I think we showed that in the second half last week.
“We’ve been solid defensively for most of the season. We’ve copped a few goals in recent weeks but all teams will go through that little spell.
“Every team goes through little spells where they’re not picking up wins and not picking up the desired results and it’s just about how you come through that.”
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