Aston Villa midfielder Chris Herd has been withdrawn from the Socceroos squad just days before the London friendly against Ecuador due to “personal reasons”.
The uncapped player was due to join teammates at the Socceroos camp on Sunday but instead fellow uncapped defender Alex Wilkinson has been brought in.
Football Australia said Herd was withdrawn after Aston Villa confirmed the 24-year-old would be unavailable for selection until further notice due to personal reasons.
“We have been made aware that Chris will be unavailable for selection at club level until further notice as he works through some personal issues and we will respect that and have replaced him in the squad for the Ecuador game,” coach Ange Postecoglou said in a statement.
The coach said the change was another opportunity for Wilkinson, 29, who plays with Jeonbuk Motors in South Korea.
“He did well in the camp in Sydney last November when we played Costa Rica and he has a chance to put his best foot forward, like everyone else, in relation to World Cup selection,” Postecoglou said.
The other uncapped players in the 23-man squad to tackle Ecuador on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEDT) are Curtis Good and Massimo Luongo.
Ben Halloran was originally in the squad but was ruled out on Friday with a hip injury. He was replaced by Socceroos veteran Brett Holman.
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