Wellington Phoenix captain added to All Whites squad

Wellington Phoenix skipper Alex Rufer has been called up by New Zealand for the upcoming W Cup in Egypt.

Rufer had originally been overlooked for the tournament in Cairo, where the All Whites are set to come up against Egypt on March 23 and one of Croatia or Tunisia after the event was switched from the United Arab Emirates.

However, the Phoenix captain has been added to the squad as a replacement for injured Wellington teammate Tim Payne, who suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-1 Isuzu UTE A-League win over Sydney FC on Saturday.

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Rufer has been in fine form for high-flying Wellington this season, making 20 appearances and missing just two matches, while scoring three goals.

The five-time international last played for the All Whites a year ago and he joins five other Phoenix players in the squad – Kosta Barbarouses, Ben Old, Finn Surman, Alex Paulsen and Lukas Kelly-Heald.