Perth Glory marquee Mile Sterjovski has revealed a niggling ankle complaint denied him a Socceroos recall against Oman earlier this month.
Perth Glory marquee Mile Sterjovski has revealed a niggling ankle complaint denied him a Socceroos recall against Oman earlier this month.
The request from Socceroos boss Pim Verbeek coming as a welcome boost for Sterjovski but an unfortunate injury sustained just a few days prior to joining the camp prevented him from adding to his 41 national caps.
Sterjovski said the call-up for the vital Asian Cup qualifier has reaffirmed his decision to return to the Hyundai A-League and play with Perth Glory ahead of next year-s FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
“I was disappointed not to be called up (initially),” Sterjovski said at Glory training on Wednesday.
“I actually was meant to go into camp in Melbourne after the Adelaide game (in Round 10) but I got injured.
“That was the most disappointing thing for me because they might have given me a chance to play there.”
“The World Cup’s still a long time away, we’ve got plenty of time to make it into the squad. The same kind of thing happened to me last time around and I ended up making the team.
“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.”
The striker, along with Glory team-mates Jacob Burns and Chris Coyne, have all been assured they remain part of Verbeek-s plans in South Africa after playing roles in Australia-s qualification.
Sterjovski scored in the Socceroos second-last World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain in June and came close to adding to his tally against Japan at the MCG a week later.
Coyne-s last outing was a solid defensive performance in the Socceroos 2-0 win over Bahrain while Burns won praise for steeping into Jason Culina’s shoes last September as he played in a re-jigged midfield that saw off Uzbekistan 1-0 in Tashkent.
