Captain Mile Jedinak has moved untroubled through his first training with Socceroos teammates in 11 days, proving his fitness for the Asian Cup quarter-final against China.
Jedinak showed no obvious signs of discomfort from the left ankle injury which sidelined him for Australia’s last two group games of the tournament.
The skipper didn’t participate in match simulation drills during the Socceroos’ 45-minute session at the Queensland Sports and Athletic Centre in Brisbane on Tuesday evening.
Two days before the knockout quarter-final against China, Jedinak instead underwent a fitness test including agility, sprints and passing.
But a batch of Socceroos including Mathew Leckie, Massimo Luongo, Robbie Kruse and Tomi Juric were largely onlookers, doing little more than stretches before watching training.
None are considered doubtful for the knockout final, with attacking ace Leckie saying the Socceroos will get a massive boost from the return of Jedinak, who suffered an ankle injury 11 days ago in the tournament opener.
The skipper will be a key plank in Australia’s game plan to counter expected squeezing tactics from China.
“It will be tough for the other team to deal with, knowing that our captain is back,” Leckie told reporters on Tuesday.
“He’s a strong presence in the midfield, he breaks down a lot of play and I think it will be a massive boost for all of us.
“He has done so well this year and I’m sure the opposition will know that as well. So when they see him coming back, they will be worried.”
Leckie hailed Jedinak’s leadership off the pitch, as well as on.
“He is always there in the changerooms and also in training making sure you’re on your toes,” he said.
“And he’s also there to give you advice and boost your confidence – a great guy, you can always sit down with him and have a chat when you need to.
“He is a great leader and he has been a great player as well.”
The Socceroos on Tuesday started an in-depth study of China, who have surprised pundits with three consecutive group stage wins after the entering the tournament seemingly in a rebuilding phase.
The Australians believe the visitors will sit back on a scrappy Suncorp Stadium surface and try and suffocate the Socceroos, before trying to hit on the counter-attack.
“We see that they’re pretty compact, disciplined,” Leckie said.
“We have still got to to continue trying to keep the ball moving … to move them around the pitch.”
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou is tipped to make five changes to his starting line-up for the final.
Jedinak will return with Leckie, Tim Cahill and Robbie Kruse all expected to start – the latter trio came from the bench in the loss to South Korea last Saturday night.
And defender Alex Wilkinson will come into the side to replace suspended centre-back Matthew Spiranovic.
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