Carlos Hernandez is in doubt for Costa Rica’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers after a scan this week revealed the dynamic Melbourne midfielder has a small hamstring tear.
Carlos Hernandez is in doubt for Costa Rica’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers after a scan this week revealed the dynamic Melbourne midfielder has a small hamstring tear.
Victory coach Ernie Merrick revealed this week that Hernandez, who was ineligible to play in this week’s match Hyundai A-League match against Perth after being shown two yellow cards in last week’s loss to Queensland, had suffered tightness and was a doubt to make the trip back with home with compatriot Jose Luis Lopez.
“Not only is Carlos is suspended for this week, he has a small tear in his hamstring, which we didn’t know about until after the game when he told us he had tightness,” Merrick said. “He was scanned yesterday (Wednesday) and the scan revealed he has a tear. We’ll notify the Costa Rican association but we’ll make sure he’s available to fly over if they want him to.”
Merrick revealed that the last time Hernandez has been called up in June, the midfielder had arrived back home with a minor quad injury and was unable to play.
“We went through the process with Costa Rica before because after the Juventus game, Carlos had very slight tear in his quad. We didn’t think it would hinder him playing, he flew over and they assessed him and they said they’d rather he didn’t come over,” he said.
“We can only furnish the association with all the facts and the results of the scan but it’s their call. We want him to play for his country, he’s keen to play for his country, it will be up to their association.”
The final determination on whether he makes the long trip back to Central America for matches against Suriname in Paramaribo and Haiti in San Jose will be left to the player and his association.
“It’s entirely his call and the call of the Costa Rica association, it’s a FIFA date, and he’s not available for us anyway, so it’s his call,” he said.
However, Merrick said that Hernandez should be fit for the match after the FIFA break, away to Newcastle.
“It’s only a grade one tear, and if he looks after himself from now, he should be a good prospect for the Newcastle game,” he said.
It’s a similar story for Michael Thwaite, who injured his ankle against Queensland last week.
“He could almost come up again for this week because the scans have shown he hasn’t made the injury any worse, he’s just inflamed it. Given we’ve got good back up players in defence, it’s not worth taking a risk,” Merrick said.
Michael Theoklitos will also be available for the Round 8 encounter at EnergyAustralia Stadium after serving out his two-match ban.
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