John Aloisi praised the resilience of super-sub Henrique after the Brazilian netted a classy matchwinner in Brisbane Roar’s narrow 1-0 win over Perth Glory on Sunday.
The livewire forward made his return from a lengthy knee injury in the 59th minute at Suncorp Stadium and delighted the home fans with a
“If anyone has had a major injury they know it’s hard,” Aloisi said.
Henrique strike edges Roar past Glory
“He had to go back to Brazil to do his rehab just after his operation. Since he’s been back with us I couldn’t have asked for any more from him in terms of his preparation and getting fit again.
“What he’s done for the club – winning championships, scoring important goals, penalties – it’s great for him and let’s hope there’s more to come because I think he can still deliver for us and score a lot of goals.”
Fellow substitute Javier Hervas made an equally important contribution on debut in cleverly assisting Henrique’s goal.
The Spaniard has had to wait until round five for his Hyundai A-League debut, with a start still unlikely to arrive in Friday night’s hosting of Melbourne City.
“I don’t think Javi is quite ready yet to play from the start in terms of physically,” he said.
“This was a plan to make sure we held him back and made sure we waited for the right time to introduce him.
“He’ll get his minutes. It’s a good headache to have when you have a strong squad.”
