Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay confirmed Englishman Joe Lolley is good to go for this weekend’s Sydney Derby in Unite Round but admits there are concerns over the fitness of Brazilian star Douglas Costa.
Costa has been out of action since injuring his hamstring against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Sky Blues’ AFC Champions League Two clash on October 23; Lolley then suffered a groin injury against Auckland FC three days later.
Lolley was initially slated to return to the Sydney FC squad for their home clash with Macarthur Bulls in Round 4 however he failed a late fitness test meaning Costa was instead drafted into the matchday squad, but wasn’t used off the bench.
Ahead of Saturday night’s blockbuster Sydney Derby against rivals Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium, Talay was asked about the star pair.
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“Joe’s good, so he’ll be available for selection,” revealed Talay.
“On the (matchday) minus one before the Macarthur game, he needed to tick a few boxes and he still felt a bit of pain on crossing balls.
“So we thought we didn’t want to risk him and make sure we give him an extra week to prepare for this game.
“The great thing is that obviously we didn’t end up using him, he wasn’t in the matchday squad and we gave him a few more days, and then now he’ll be available.”
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The prognosis on former Bayern Munich, Juventus and Brazil star Costa though isn’t as good, with Talay revealing he is a doubt for the game as he continues to recover from his hamstring strain.
“Douglas is where it’s one of those ones where we need to make a decision,” he said. “Do we push him to get him available for the game?
“But also, we’ve got a very important ACL Two game mid-week and then we have the bye and then we have another ACL Two game and then two days later we play Central Coast. Then we don’t have an ACL game ’til next year.
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“So it’s one of those ones where we weigh up if we utilise him too early and does he break again and then he’s out for a long period of time because we’re going to be playing one game a week, which will allow us to actually utilise him a lot better in that window.
“So it’s a decision that we’ll sit down with the medical staff to make. Douglas as well, because he’s just itching to play. He wants to get back out there, and we want him to play as well. I think he’s a very important player to us, but we’ll make that decision closer to the game as well.”
What will come as a big boost for Talay though is the news instrumental midfielder Leo Sena is available for the clash against the Wanderers.
The former Serie A midfielder had his thigh strapped during the 2-1 loss to Macarthur in Round 4 and was ultimately substituted in the 66th minute due to the issue.
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However, the Brazilian has now recovered during the recent international break and is available for selection.
“Well we looked after him in the first week of the International window,” said Talay when asked about Sena. “Which just gave us time for, mainly, certain players that have played a lot of minutes leading into that window.
“But he’s been good. He’ll be available for selection as well. So he’s, he’s training fully at the moment.”
Midfielder Corey Hollman won’t be available for the Derby as he continues to recover from an ankle injury sustained in the loss to Auckland FC in Round 2 but returning Socceroos Rhyan Grant and Anthony Caceres are expected to play a part.
Skipper Grant didn’t feature during the Socceroos’ recent games against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain however Caceres made his international debut against the former last week before playing the full 90minutes against Bahrain on Wednesday morning.
“They arrive (from Bahrain) Thursday morning, and they’ll be straight to training on Thursday morning with us.
Talay added: “We’ll obviously modify, they’ll be coming off the flight, all the way from Bahrain, but they’ll be involved in the last two sessions before we play.”
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Also featuring for the Socceroos against Bahrain was the Sky Blues’ young central defender, Hayden Matthews.
A surprise inclusion in the starting line-up, Matthews returns to Sydney having earned his first senior cap for the Socceroos however he won’t be playing in the Sydney Derby this weekend after picking up a one-game ban following his red card in the defeat to Macarthur Bulls.
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