Melbourne Victory have confirmed that star striker Archie Thompson will be sidelined for a month but in better news defender Matthew Kemp could be back in a fortnight.
Thompson, who was playing just his seventh game of the 2010/11 campaign after recovering from the long-term knee injury he suffered during last season’s grand final, tore his hamstring late in the first half of last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Perth Glory.
Having worked a brilliant one-two with fellow striker Robbie Kruse, the latter audaciously back-heeling the ball back into his team-mate’s path, Thompson controlled it and then made no mistake to give his team the lead.
But having been forced to hurdle Glory goalkeeper Tando Velaphi, who had rushed off his line to try and block the shot, Thompson’s celebration quickly turned to sour as he limped away and had to leave the field.
The 32-year-old underwent scans on his injured hamstring on Tuesday afternoon and, having already resigned himself to missing out on January’s Asian Cup finals, it was confirmed on Wednesday morning that Thompson will be sidelined for four weeks.
“Adding Archie to any team and they’re a better side and there’s no doubt when he’s in our team, we’re a better side,” captain Kevin Muscat said on Wednesday morning.
“I have no hesitation in saying when he is playing we’re a much more dangerous team going forward than when we’re without him.”
“But like I said, players are going to have to step up now and we’re going to have to get some results.”
That comes as a major blow to Victory after their second win on the trot last weekend, with Ernie Merrick’s men gearing up for a busy upcoming schedule that includes games on December 27 and 31 and then six more in January when they could also be without Kruse.
Kruse could join Thompson on the unavailable list for much of January after last week being named among the Qantas Socceroos’ 50-man provisional squad for the Asian Cup, with the final 23-man squad to be confirmed on December 28.
But things were far more positive for Kemp, who strained his groin during the win over the Glory and also had scans on Tuesday, the 30-year-old set to be back within two weeks after injuring himself in just his third game back from a serious knee injury of his own dating back to last season.
