Queensland Roar veteran Danny Tiatto is set to make his return from injury in Friday night’s Hyundai A-League state of origin derby at Sydney Football Stadium.
A nagging foot injury sidelined Tiatto when the Roar recorded a drought-breaking win at home last weekend, but Roar coach Frank Farina was confident his enforcer would be in force for his side’s clash against Sydney FC.
“Danny will travel, he will be with the 16, we’ll assess the situation when we get down there this afternoon,” Farina said.
“He’s trained the last three or four sessions, so he’ll be right to go.”
“He may still have a little bit of tenderness in the foot but he’s available to play, so whether he starts or he’s on the bench, I’ll make that decision tonight.”
Farina was sure the former Socceroos hardman would be able to play through any possible pain barrier.
“Danny’s a tough customer, I don’t think it’s often that Danny doesn’t play without some kind of injury or knock.”
“You know what you’re going to get with him, so if he says he’s right, you know he’s right.”
The Roar did not seem to miss Tiatto’s services last Sunday when the Brisbane-based side notched their first win at home for the 2008/09 season in fine fashion.
Skipper Craig Moore’s inspirational return after undergoing testicular cancer surgery 12 days before the match helped the Roar to a 4-1 win over Perth Glory on Sunday.
The result boosted Queensland to third position on the table and delivered a lift in morale, but Farina backed his chargers to keep a lid on any euphoria.
“It’s too short a turnaround to get carried away with it, they know that it’s two big weeks coming up for us, Sydney away and Central Coast away.”
“We’re under no illusions that Sydney is going to very tough, it’s a difficult trip.”
“No we’re not going to be lulled into any false sense of security, the players know that it was arguably not our best performance last week.”
“I thought we played some good football for about 50 minutes, the second half and the last 3 minutes of the first half, but prior to that I thought the first 40 minutes was arguably our worst 40 minutes this season.”
