Nabbout a chance to return

SOCCEROOS coach Graham Arnold remains hopeful attacker Andrew Nabbout will still play a part in Australia’s Asian Cup campaign.

Nabbout, 26, is yet to feature in the UAE after a groin injury in the final training session before Australia’s opener against Jordan on January 6.

He was expected to return to action in Tuesday night’s final Group B clash with Syria but aggravated the injury in the last training session before the match.

Despite fears Nabbout’s tournament is over before it’s even begun, Arnold hasn’t put a red line through the forward’s name just yet.

“He’s fine to jog. He’s fine to do a lot of the work but when he had to sprint and go full pace he could still feel it,” Arnold said.

“He came to me and said, ‘look I can’t play at 60-70 per cent. I don’t want to let the boys down’. That’s the type of atmosphere and environment that we have is that the team is number one and the individual is number two.”

Scans on the injury showed there had been no additional damage to the original concern, Socceroos staff said on Wednesday, and Nabbout remains a chance to play some part in the tournament.

Australia’s six-day turnaround before its round of 16 clash with either Japan or Uzbekistan, who played overnight, is in Nabbout’s favour.

It will also benefit fullback Josh Risdon (groin) and give Mathew Leckie (hamstring) a chance to be fit, although he’s more likely to be available from the quarter-finals onward.

Trent Sainsbury should return to the starting XI for Australia’s first knockout match (Tuesday, 1am AEDT) after he missed the Syria clash due to suspension.