Mathew Leckie sat on the bench with ice on his hamstring. It is a sight that will undoubtedly have Isuzu UTE A-League champions Melbourne City concerned.
Leckie was withdrawn at half-time against Brisbane Roar on Friday night.
The CommBank Socceroos star started the Round 3 fixture, but he did not re-emerge for the second half at Suncorp Stadium, where he was later seen with ice on his hamstring.
Paramount+ analyst and former Socceroo Scott McDonald provided an update on the City star at the start of the second half following a brief conversation with head coach Aurelio Vidmar, saying: “I asked him if there was something wrong (with Leckie) and he said yeah that’s why he’s not out there.”
Leckie has been hampered by soft-tissue injuries in recent seasons, with the 34-year-old overcoming a hamstring problem before his man-of-the-match performance in the historic Grand Final win over Melbourne Victory.
That hamstring strain saw him withdraw from the Socceroos squad in June.
“That’s a big news story brewing,” Paramount+’s Andy Harper said on Friday night.
“City’s casualty ward is already lengthy. They had a huge issue with that last season.
“… It’s a huge story.”
After the game, Vidmar told reporters: “He was complaining about some tightness in his hamstring. We will see what happens now.”
