Victory midfielder Billy Celeski has been cleared of major damage to the left knee he had reconstructed 11 months ago but he’ll still miss Sunday’s clash with the Fury.
Celeski and the entire club feared the worst when he tried to change direction at training at Olympic Park on Tuesday and fell to the ground screaming in agony and punching the turf.
But unlike when he landed awkwardly in the opening minutes of last season’s Round 5 clash with Newcastle at Etihad Stadium, this time Celeski has only minor damage and isn’t expected to be sidelined for too long.
It is the second piece of good news for the Victory in 48 hours after concerns that attacking midfielder Carlos Hernandez had suffered a serious knee injury in last Saturday night’s loss to Perth were allayed on Monday.
With 25-year-old Celeski to miss at least this week, almost certainly along with Hernandez, Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick will be relieved that neither has joined Archie Thompson and Matthew Kemp for an extended stint out of the game.
Kemp went down injured in early February and then Thompson also required a knee reconstruction when he was hurt in the grand final loss to Sydney, with both making strong progress in their recoveries but not expected back for some time yet.
