Melbourne Victory will enter their first leg Semi-Final against Western United on Tuesday night with a healthy squad to select from.
Brendan Hamill and Matt Acton returned to the team sheet in last week’s win over Sydney, while Matt Spiranovic has been training in preparation for a Finals return.
“Everyone (except Robbie Kruse) has been training all week,” Popovic said this morning.
“We feel like we’ll have a full squad to choose from. Spiranovic has had four consecutive sessions with the team – he looks good and he’s available which is a real plus for us.”
Nick D’Agostino (shoulder) has brushed off any concerns, also training throughout the preparation.
“He hasn’t missed any training, he’s a boy who always wants to train,” Popovic said.
“He has a high pain threshold and always has had. It’s something he’s managing but without missing training, it obviously tells you it’s not serious because he’s getting through training quite comfortably.”
Robbie Kruse (knee) remains out and is unlikely to return in the Finals.
“He’s making progress but to be available for the Finals, he’d really need to be training now with the group and getting that collective training that’s required for such big games,” Popovic said.
“It’d be difficult to see (Robbie returning).”
Men’s squad v Western United (Semi-Final Leg One) – Tuesday 17 May 7:05pm
#1 Matt Acton
#2 Jason Geria
#3 Jason Davidson
#4 Rai Marchan
#5 Matt Spiranovic
#6 Leigh Broxham
#7 Chris Ikonomidis
#8 Josh Brillante (C)
#9 Francesco Margiotta
#11 Ben Folami
#13 Birkan Kirdar
#14 Jay Barnett
#15 Aaron Anderson
#16 Stefan Nigro
#17 Brendan Hamill
#18 Nick D’Agostino
#19 Luka Prso
#20 Ivan Kelava
#21 Roderick Miranda
#22 Jake Brimmer
#23 Marco Rojas
#24 Nishan Velupillay
#25 Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio
#26 Lleyton Brooks
#27 Zaydan Bello
#30 Marko Bulic
