Former English Premier League and MLS midfielder Terry Cooke has been cleared to play for the North Queensland Fury and will be available to suit up for the green and white this Saturday night at Dairy Farmers Stadium against Adelaide United.
Coach Ian Ferguson said Cooke’s would come into the squad on an injury replacement contract to cover for James Robinson.
“There’s been a bit of work to get it all together but it’s nice to get him on board – he’s a quality player,” Ferguson said.
“The most important thing for us is that he brings in a lot of experience for the midfield.”
“We’ve got three other boys in there – Rostyn Griffiths, David Williams and Osama Malik who are all young and I needed someone with an older head on his shoulders to help steady things.”
“I think Terry can bring that for us.”
Cooke started his career with Manchester United after coming through the Red Devils’ youth system with David Beckham before stints at Manchester City, Grimsby Town, Sheffield Wednesday and most recently the Colorado Rapids in the American MLS competition.
The 33-year-old is chomping at the bit to get back on the pitch.
“It’s been July now since I’ve played a competitive game it’s nice to be back in the fold and in the swing of things and I’m looking forward to the weekend now,” Cooke said.
“I play in the wide midfield and have a passing game and obviously we’ve got some good strikers up front so if I can get it in and they can get on the end of it with a decent touch hopefully we can get a few goals in.”
Cooke was impressed with the support shown to the Fury last and is looking forward to pulling on his new colours at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
“It was fantastic last week,” he said.
“It’s a new franchise but you can tell the people here really love their sport and it’s fantastic that they do support it in such a passionate way.”
“It’s great to be given the chance to play in such an environment.”
