Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat is confident his long-time defensive partner Rody Vargas will be fit for Saturday night’s A-League clash against Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.
Vargas, who turned 31 on Tuesday, injured his quad during last week’s 3-1 win over Newcastle and faces the possibility of rare time on the sidelines this weekend.
The veteran defender has been one of the A-League’s most durable players and has already racked up 78 appearances for the Victory despite only joining the club in 2006.
Muscat, whose partnership at the centre of defence with Vargas has been a key factor in the Victory’s two championship wins in the first four seasons of the A-League, says Vargas will be doing everything possible to avoid missing a game.
“If he has got half a chance to play Rody will play because he is that type of character,” Muscat said on Tuesday.
The Victory captain said it would be a strange feeling taking on Adelaide without Vargas alongside him on Saturday night.
“He has been ever-present,” Muscat said of Vargas, one of the A-League’s most respected players.
“I can’t remember the last time we have had to play without him but like I said I am optimistic that he will be fine for the weekend unless something has showed up on the scans I am unaware of.”
With the Victory bouncing back from the previous week’s humiliating home loss to Sydney with their come-from-behind win over Newcastle, Muscat is looking forward to facing an Adelaide side also on a high after its great home win over the Sky Blues.
Those wins put Melbourne and Adelaide into third and sixth positions respectively but the Reds have the opportunity to draw level with Melbourne on 18 points if they can win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night in what will be the first meeting between the two teams at the Docklands venue since Melbourne’s 1-0 win in last season’s grand final.
“We have had some great rivalries with them and this week will be no different,” Muscat said.
“They are coming off a great result last week and we had another good win on the road so it’s built up nicely for another blockbuster on Saturday night.”
