Socceroos assistant coach Hayden Foxe opens door for Alessandro Circati ahead of World Cup qualifiers
Socceroos assistant coach Hayden Foxe says they will monitor Perth-raised defender Alessandro Circati ahead of their looming World Cup qualifiers after the 21-year-old made an impressive return to Serie A football.
While the Australian national team have assembled in Abu Dhabi for a 10-day training camp ahead of their two crunch World Cup qualifiers — including their June 5 match against Japan in Perth — Circati has not joined them.
Instead, Circati started his first game for Parma on Sunday since tearing his ACL last September, marking a whirlwind recovery from the serious knee injury.
Having been on the bench for Parma the past month, the rising centre-back was thrown into the deep end against a Napoli side hoping to wrap up the Serie A title.
But Circati made a memorable starting return, helping secure a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against star Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku.
The 23-man Socceroos squad who have linked up with coach Tony Popovic in Abu Dhabi is not the final squad that will be selected for their final two World Cup qualifiers.
Foxe said Circati was every chance to feature in the final squad and was impressed by his game against Napoli.
'He was able to play out comfortably 90 minutes against a side who's challenging for the title. It means that he's done his work, he's been due diligent, and he's actually prepared and done his rehab to a level that is expected,' he said.
'Every case is different, and you can't say that he needs to play a certain amount of games before he can get called in or not called into the national team.
'Continually, medically and tactically, we're monitoring him and all the players. We'll keep monitoring and see how he goes again this weekend, and then we'll see what the decision's made, if he gets selected or not selected for the June camp.'
Foxe said he was not surprised to see Circati make such a smooth return as the Socceroos coaching staff had been in contact with him throughout his injury.
'We know what he's been doing. He's been working ever so hard, doing two or three sessions a day, working with the medical team very closely,' he said.
'We know the work he has been putting in, which needs to be done if you want to play at that level. It's no surprise now that when he comes back, he can play out 95 minutes and do it comfortably, physically, mentally and tactically.'
Another Perth product, Hibernian centre-back Jack Iredale, was called into a national team camp for the first time since his youth days.
Foxe said Iredale's ability to play both centre-back and left-back was invaluable.
'A lot of things can happen in such a short space, especially in the international window, you have to have some flexibility for sure,' he said.
'We've been monitoring Jack for the last six months, so we know what he's been able to do at Hibs, and now he's got an opportunity to show what he can do here.
'By all reports and the people we spoke to, he's a fantastic human being, number one, and he's a fantastic player and a hard-working player. He deserves the opportunity.'
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