Injured Mooy named in Australia’s Asian Cup squad
Perth forward Ikonomidis wins spot
Sydney: Australia coach Graham Arnold has included injured Huddersfield Town midfielder Aaron Mooy in his Asian Cup squad despite the playmaker already being ruled out of the tournament by the English Premier League club.
Huddersfield said Mooy would miss the Socceroos’ title defence in the UAE next month having torn a ligament in his knee that would keep him out of action until February.
Arnold, however, said Mooy was desperate to play in the January 5-February 1 tournament and had requested a second opinion.
“They ruled him out initially before we could actually get to speak to him,” Arnold said.
“He’s asked for the medical staff to go over and to have a look at him.
“We just want what’s best for the kid. The kid wants to go to the Asian Cup, the kid wants to play for Huddersfield.”
Arnold’s 23-man squad contains few surprises barring the selection of Perth Glory forward Chris Ikonomidis, who was included at the expense of Swiss-based regular Tomi Juric.
Ikonomidis was overlooked in Arnold’s first squads for friendlies against Kuwait, South Korea and Lebanon but had won his spot with strong form in the domestic A-League, Arnold said.