Adelaide is confident Paul Reid and Mathew Leckie will both play against the Newcastle Jets on Friday night despite the duo racing the clock to prove their fitness.
Reid is recovering from a jarred ankle suffered late in United’s win over the AIS in the National Youth League in Canberra on Sunday, while Leckie is hampered by knee soreness.
Reid has made just one appearance in the A-League in the past 10 matches and he is desperate to return to the side to help the Reds off the bottom of the ladder.
The 30-year-old has proven to be somewhat of a lucky charm for Adelaide at Hindmarsh Stadium this year with its three home wins this season all coming with Reid in the starting XI.
“At this stage, it was probably a little bit more negative at the beginning of the week but as the rehab has progressed, it is looking more favourable for them to be involved at the weekend,” assistant coach Phil Stubbins said after the squad’s training session on Wednesday.
“For Reid, the importance of tomorrow’s session is certainly something that we are looking at, that he can come through, and if he does come through he’ll go close to being available for Friday.”
While Leckie failed to take part in the warm up on Wednesday morning, he did complete the rest of the session and expects to take part on Friday night.
“He (Leckie) trained with the group today and got through the session quite well, and we’ll give him every opportunity between now and game day to prove his fitness,” Stubbins said.
Defender Michael Marrone also resumed training with the main squad after recovering from knee and calf problems, which has kept him out of action since Round 6.
With no other injuries to report, Adelaide has a full list to choose from, which is welcome news to the coaching staff as the Reds have dropped to last place on the A-League table.
“It’s always nice to have everybody available, that just breeds competition within the squad, but having said that I don’t think it is about any individual at the moment, it’s certainly about everyone trying to play and fulfill their potential,” Stubbins said.
“It’s about us all pulling together and really driving each other to give it everything we’ve got until the end of the season.”
