Nishan Velupillay to be given until ‘11th hour' to prove his fitness for A-League decider
Socceroos star Nishan Velupillay is a '50-50' prospect for Saturday night's A-League grand final, while his Melbourne Victory teammate Mitch Langerak is making a late push for selection in the derby decider against Melbourne City.
Attacking weapon Velupillay injured his right ankle in the Victory's semi-final success in Auckland last Saturday, and seemed little chance to of playing this weekend at AAMI Park.
However, Victory coach Arthur Diles is set to give one of his prized assets as much time as possible to prove his fitness.
'We'll give him to the 11th hour … but at this stage, it's probably 50-50,' Diles said on Wednesday.
'He's walking better, but one thing is to walk, and one thing is to be up for a final.
'(It is) still way too early to have a clear indication.'
Former Socceroos goalkeeper Langerak has missed the Victory's past five matches with a foot injury, with Jack Duncan deputising for the 36-year-old gloveman.
'He did a little bit (on Tuesday), he did a little bit more (on Wednesday)' Diles said of Langerak.
'We'll see (on Thursday) how he pulls up, because it'll be first time he's done two days back-to-back, so it'll be a big test for him.'
Left-back Kasey Bos, who missed last Saturday's 2-0 semi-final second-leg win over Auckland FC with a heel injury, is expected to be available for the final.
A full house of close to 30,000 is expected at AAMI Park, with the Victory set to have the majority of the support.
However, City coach Aurelio Vidmar urged his side to 'embrace' the occasion and a pro-Victory atmosphere.
'You can't run away from it,' Vidmar said.
'You know what the derby is always like. They're always intense. There's always something happening that can be explosive, so we just have to try to prepare for anything and everything.
'Whatever happens on the night, we'll be ready. They'll have the majority share of the crowd but our fans have fans have been there from the very first day … and we expect them to support us right to the end.'
Despite the Victory's heroics in Auckland, where they defied the odds to end the Black Knights' hopes of a premiership-championship double, Vidmar's men are full of confidence heading into the decider.
City finished second on the ladder, five points clear of their Melbourne rivals.
'There's no question they're a very strong outfit but we're also a very strong outfit and we deserve to be where we are today, and we deserve to be fighting it out in that last game on Saturday night,' Vidmar said.
'There are always going to be moments in games, and you have to try to manage those moments as best you can.
'We want to be the aggressor. That's the way we play, that's the team's identity and we'll continue to do that.'
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