Brisbane Roar interim coach Frans Thijssen says new signing Andrija Kaluderovic will not be risked in tonight’s Hyundai A-League clash with Wellington Phoenix.
The 27-year-old arrived in Brisbane over the weekend and Thijssen admitted he was wary of rushing the Serbian straight into the squad.
“He needs time to acclimatise. He needs time to get to know the players,” Thijssen said.
“Every player says they are ready to go and they always want to play but it is the coach’s role to assess the situation and it is not the best thing for Andrija to play straight away in a home game when he still has jet lag.”
Andrija trained with the Roar for the first time yesterday and did another session early today.
The three-cap Serbian international scored 19 goals in 43 appearances for Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade in 2010-11 and most recently played in Switzerland with Super League side FC Thun.
“The first impressions are very good. We have a good feeling with Andrija. He will do very well for the club,” Thijssen said.
The Roar have been struck down with injury concerns in recent weeks and will be without leading goal-scorer Henrique and young-gun Dimitri Petratos for tonight’s clash with the Phoenix.
“It is disappointing when you lose players to injury but great to see others coming back into the squad,’’ Thijssen said.
“They have worked hard as a group and I can see plenty of fighting spirit. It will be a very different team on the park tonight than the last time against Wellington.”
