Melbourne Victory forward James Troisi is primed to return to the starting line-up after an encouraging cameo as a substitute in Monday night’s 6-1 win over Wellington Phoenix.
Troisi made just his second appearance of the season against Phoenix, 24 days after breaking his collarbone against Brisbane Roar in Round 1.
The 28-year-old, who entered the Cup Eve game in the 63rd minute, played an important part in Victory scoring four goals in the final 20 minutes.
“The first game of the season with the broken collarbone was out of my hands, but I’ve been working hard to get back as soon as possible,” Troisi told SEN.
“It was fantastic to get some minutes under my belt and obviously I want to continue that.
“I’ve been training for a good solid week now, and if I wasn’t confident I wouldn’t have played.
“I’m feeling good, feeling strong and my strength’s back to where it should be. It’s still going to take a little bit of time, but it was a good start.”
Troisi said despite the strong performance against Wellington, which was Victory’s second straight Hyundai A-League win, the team’s focus has already turned to the task of toppling Sydney FC, the competition’s frontrunners, on Saturday night.
“They’re doing fantastically. They haven’t lost a game and are on top of the ladder,” he said.
“It’s going to be tough, but we’re going to be up for the challenge.”