Adelaide United has returned from the Club World Cup with some injury problems but is hopeful its sore players can recover ahead of their Hyundai A-League clash against the Perth Glory on Friday.
Skipper Travis Dodd has a hip injury, Fabian Barbiero and Daniel Mullen have corked muscles while Diego is struggling with hip and quad problems.
Coach Aurelio Vidmar said the tournament in Japan had taken its toll but shouldn’t impact too much on their first A-League match in three weeks.
“They’ll certainly all be going to the medico on Monday and then we’ll have a look what we’ve got once we’ve assessed that,” he said.
“Once that strongest team is out on the park they can achieve anything. Whether we have that strongest line-up on board for Boxing Day, we’ll know in the next couple of days.”
Cassio didn’t see much action in Japan after suffering with the flu in the build up to the team’s first game while the experienced Brazilian was also off colour in the week just past.
However Vidmar is optimistic he’ll be right for selection too.
“He’s feeling good now. He’s a different person to what he has been over the last couple of days. He’ll get back into training on Monday and should be right for Friday,” he said.
United finished the Club World Cup on a positive with a win against Egypt’s Al Ahly earning them fifth spot on the ladder.
Vidmar said the Cup and the Asian Champions League had given the players a benchmark to work towards and a hunger for more international action.
Despites those experiences Vidmar said his team was still keen to succeed domestically. The Reds coach said he’d trade in the past overseas experiences for an A-League title.
“Absolutely. With the results going our way last night and being away for two weeks with two games in hand that puts us in a pretty strong position,” he said.
