Gold Coast United goalkeeper Jess Vanstrattan has been dealt a cruel blow just days away from his Hyundai A-League debut, going down with an ankle injury at training.
Although the 27-year-old custodian is yet to undergo further scans, early indications are that he has suffered ligament damage to his right ankle and is expected to be sidelined for around 2-3 weeks.
“It was an innocuous situation. We were going through a warm-up drill and Jess stumbled and fell,” said Gold Coast United goalkeeper coach, Graham Ross.
“There was significant swelling straight away and he was taken away for medical attention,” he added.
The injury to Vanstrattan will open the door for Scott Higgins to step into the gloveman’s role for the season opener this Saturday and Ross has every faith in the former Roar ‘keeper who has been in top form during the pre-season campaign.
“Neither Miron or myself will have any concerns about Scott Higgins’ ability to do a great job for us. He has had a full pre-season and has been in excellent form,” Ross said.
“He’s a very experienced goalkeeper now and we won’t lose any sleep about slotting Scott straight in if that’s what we have to do.”
