Melbourne City’s injury list is mounting after Socceroo Nathaniel Atkinson suffered an apparent hamstring injury in the Melbourne Derby.
Atkinson succumbed to injury inside the opening 15 minutes of Saturday night’s blockbuster showdown with rivals Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park.
The CommBank Socceroos full-back was forced from the field, adding to City’s injury woes which plagued the club en route to last season’s Championship triumph.
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Soft-tissue problems are wreaking havoc for the reigning champions, with Mathew Leckie and Aziz Behich sidelined due to hamstring problems, along with Elbasan Rashani, Samuel Souprayen and Medin Memeti. Behich, though, is set to return following the international break.
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“The malaise if it’s back, and there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that, has kicked in a lot earlier this season,” Network 10 co-commentator and analyst Andy Harper said on Saturday night.
“This was supposed to be part of the post-season review. This was one of the reasons, was it not that they put the kids in the Australia Cup and left with nothing to safeguard against this?
“I’m sure the football department will be wondering how do we get on top of this? It’s horrendous.”
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City returned to Australia on Wednesday after stunning J1 League outfit Machida Zelvia in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Harper added: “Atkinson was one of the few who didn’t break last season in the Championship run.
“He was one of the older heads who was managing to keep things together on the field.
“But they’re dropping like flies.”
