Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold said he’s expecting to welcome back Milos Ninkovic to the squad as the Sky Blues prepare to face the third placed Brisbane Roar on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.
Ninkovic injured his ankle in the Sky Blues most recent home match against the Wellington Phoenix, and was expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season, however Arnold confirmed the Serbian midfielder was in line for a recall following two weeks of rehabilitation.
“Apart from Alex Brosque we’ve got everyone fit and that includes Ninkovic,” Arnold said.
“The medical staff have done a great job with him and his ankle has pulled up much better than first diagnosed and we expect him back for Saturday.
“Ninkovic has worked extremely hard, we’ve had a physio work with him full time and I left Clarky behind to work with him while we were in Pohang.
“He’s pulled up very well ahead of schedule, he’ll train fully with the team today and be ready for Saturday.”
Arnold said he was hopeful that having had a full week to train will pay dividends on Saturday, as he rued the number of draws played out over the course of the season.
“We’ve had a week of training to freshen up and we look forward to the game,” Arnold said.
“Brisbane are going to be a tough proposition, they’re fighting for first spot, their home form is very good, Johnny has done a good job up there this year with his brother Ross and I know it’s important our focus is at its best.
“Too many draws have put us in this position,” he continued.
“We haven’t gone and lost three in a row or six in a row like other teams, we’ve had one or two losses and then a draw and those draws should have been wins.
“It’s inconsistency. We haven’t lost against the Wanderers for six games, the players really get themselves up for it.
“Pohang was red and black, we treated them like the Wanderers and beat them so we seem to get ourselves up very good for the big games.
“We’ve got three big games ahead of us, there’s good fight, good desire, we’re at the business end of the season now and we need to perform.”
Sydney FC take on Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night (kick off 7:30pm). Catch the match live on Fox Sports 4, listen live on ABC Grandstand or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for updates.
