Melbourne City have been dealt a blow with news their Socceroo right back Ivan Franjic has suffered an injury setback that is likely to sideline him for another two months.
Franjic has been battling a quad injury since July but was hopeful of being fit for the start of the Hyundai A-League season.
But in cruel luck for both the player and club, Franjic re-injured the quad in training last week and now looks like returning to the pitch in December.
“Ivan reinjured his quad early last week. Although minor, this is a new injury and will be treated as such,” coach John van’t Schip told the Herald Sun.
“We expect Ivan to return in around 5-7 weeks following the injury. However, he will be closely monitored throughout the rehabilitation period.”
Franjic is just one of a host of City stars that has been hampered by soft-tissue injuries over the last few months.
Harry Novillo, Michael Zullo and Aaron Hughes have all had issues in that area, prompting the club to bring in ex-Tottenham physio Andrew McKenzie as City’s head of human performance.
There is some good news for City, with a couple of their injured stars set to return for Saturday night’s derby against Victory at Etihad Stadium.
Both David Williams and Jacob Melling should be in the squad while Socceroo Aaron Mooy will definitely start after only playing 30 minutes last weekend due to his late return from international duty.
Defender Aaron Hughes and young midfielder Stefan Mauk may also be considered, depending on how they pull-up after international duty this week.
