Amaral, David Tarka and Hayden Foxe are facing a race against time in order to be fit for Perth Glory’s crucial match against the Queensland Roar next Sunday.
Coming off a 2-2 draw with the Newcastle Jets at home, the Glory is sitting in last place on the Hyundai A-League ladder but a good result against the Roar at Suncorp Stadium will keep their slim finals hopes alive.
Coach Dave Mitchell is confident the side has turned the corner after a poor start to the season though.
“We have turned the corner with some good results over the last month,” Mitchell said.
“We aren’t where we want to be, we want to be pushing up the ladder and the next half of the season is going to be a big one for Perth Glory.”
A fit Amaral will be a massive boost to the Glory’s hopes after he injured his hamstring for the second time this season at training last week and missed the Jets game, but Mitchell is still unsure if he will be right to play.
Despite the two hamstring injuries, Mitchell would also still dearly love to re-sign the 35-year-old Brazilian midfielder and is confident of coming to a deal soon.
“We are still monitoring him so it’s a bit premature for us to find out if he’s going to be OK or not. It looks like it’s a 50-50 call now, so he could be out next week,” he said.
“We’ve been negotiating with him now about re-signing and while the injury is a concern, it’s not the same injury as before. It’s a different part of his leg and it won’t alter our decision because he’s an ultimate professional and great player.”
Tarka has only managed five games so far this season due to a quad injury but he took part in the main training session on Friday and should come into calculations for Mitchell.
“David looks like he’s getting fitter and fitter now and hopefully he will be part of the squad moving forward,” he said.
“We hope to have him available for selection and it’s good for him to get over that problem that he’s had for a little while.”
Key veteran defender Foxe looks to be the most unlikely starter of the trio. He continues to struggle with a hamstring problem and wasn-t able to do much at training.
“We are just waiting to see with Hayden. His hamstring has been a bit of a problem for him the last couple of weeks but hopefully he can be over that soon,” he said.
“Moving forward, he’s a great player and if we can get him on the park more often than not he will be a great addition to the squad. He probably won’t be ready for next Sunday though.”
