Socceroos' quick healer ready for date with destiny
Socceroos defender Alessandro Circati has opened up on the six-hour-a-day efforts he put in to make a swift return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, saying the hard work was all worth it so he could play against Japan this week.
More than 50,000 fans are set to descend on Optus Stadium on Thursday night to watch Australia's crunch World Cup qualifier against arch rivals Japan.
A win for the Socceroos would all but lock in their automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup, but a loss or a draw would mean their fate would likely be decided in a high-stakes clash with Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday.
Circati's hopes of appearing in this international window looked gone when he tore the ACL in his left knee while training with his Serie A side Parma in September last year.
Most soccer players who undergo a knee reconstruction take nine months or more to return.
Sam Kerr's current recovery is at a whopping 16 months and counting, albeit with another setback along the way.
But Circati was back for Parma by May 18 - just seven-and-a-half months after surgery.
The 21-year-old impressed in back-to-back 90-minute performances for Parma last month, convincing Socceroos coach Tony Popovic that the centre back was ready for another international call-up.
Circati, who is being touted as the next big thing in Australian soccer, revealed playing this week was a big driver during his rehabilitation.
"I was ready to play even earlier, but the club slowed it down rather than sped it up," Circati said in Perth on Wednesday.
"When you first get your surgery and start your rehab, they ask you, 'What's your goal, what are you trying to accomplish?'
"I said, 'Look there's two World Cup qualifiers in June, my goal is to be able to go there'.
"I'm lucky enough to be able to do that."
The road to an international recall wasn't easy.
"I was doing rehab six hours a day," Circati said.
"I didn't have much free time. I don't think I had a single day off, other than the break over Christmas and New Years.
"It was 9-12 in the morning, go home and have lunch, be back at 2pm and go until 5, 5.30pm.
"It's not easy. I wouldn't tell anyone that it's easy. You've just got to be determined to be back better than what you were before."
Boosting Australia's victory chances is the fact that Japan have named an inexperienced squad, given they have already secured World Cup qualification.
Overseas stars such as Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion), Daizen Maida (Celtic), Reo Hatate (Celtic), Takumi Minamino (Monaco), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg), Junya Ito (Reims) and Hidemasa Morita (Sporting Lisbon) are among the big names missing.
Nevertheless, Japan still boast plenty of talent and Socceroos striker Adam Taggart hopes Thursday night will become yet another famous occasion in Australian soccer.
"I think everyone knows the John Aloisi penalty," Taggart said, in reference to the spot kick against Uruguay that clinched Australia's qualification for the 2006 World Cup, ending a 32-year drought.
"It's replayed over and over again.
"I was trying to explain to my mum the other day that the game (against Japan) is a similar situation to that.
"The win puts us in a fantastic position to qualify.
"So to be able to have the chance to create something special like some of those moments that the whole nation has seen over and over again - like a John Aloisi penalty or a Josh Kennedy header - is really special for all of us."
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