Mooy’s injury a blow to Arnold
Saturday’s match, but the Metropolitan Police said they would review footage to determine whether any racist abuse took place. In a social media post on Sunday, Sterling said he “had to laugh” because he expected no better and added that newspapers were “unac- ceptable” in their portrayal of young black players.
Sterling has had an uneasy relationship with the media and he was also heavily criticised by fans and in the press before, during, and after the European Championship in 2016. Former Manchester SOCCEROOS medical staff are sweating on news from English Premier League club Huddersfield to determine if star midfielder Aaron Mooy’s Asian Cup is over.
The 28-year-old reportedly injured his knee during the Terriers’ 1-0 loss to Arsenal on the weekend.
Scans have revealed a medial ligament injury, according to a News Corp Australia report yesterday.
But Australian officials were unable to confirm what, if any, injury Mooy has sustained with physiotherapist Phil Coles awaiting further updates from Huddersfield.
If Mooy is injured, coach Graham Arnold is likely to face a selection conundrum when he names his 23-man squad for the tournament next week.
A four-tosix week recovery means Mooy (pictured above) would certainly miss Australia’s opener against Jordan on January 6, and possibly the other group-stage matches against Palestine and Syria.
Mooy could however be fit to play in Australia’s knockout matches if Arnold deems him too vital to leave out of his squad. United defender Gary Neville was one of Sterling’s coaches at EURO 2016 and was approached by the winger during the tournament. Sterling, felt, according to Neville, that the abuse towards him was “vicious” and that he was being “targeted”.
Former Socceroo Archie Thompson said if Mooy is unavailable it will be a big blow to Australia’s hope of retaining the title.
“You want that quality. You want that leadership,” Thompson told Fox Sports.
“He’s playing in a top league, playing week-in and week-out so his experience is invaluable. I hope that it’s not as serious as we’re hearing.” If Mooy is selected but unavailable for the group stage, it will put him in a similar situation to Tottenham star Son Heungmin.
The South Korean winger will sit out his country’s first three matches in the UAE after his national association came to an agreement with Tottenham.
But he will represent the Taeguk Warriors from the round of 16 onwards.
Fellow midfielder Tom Rogic has also reportedly suffered a knee injury but Socceroos staff are confident it won’t affect the 25-year-old’s hopes of playing in the tournament.
The Socceroos have already lost young gun Daniel Arzani after the winger suffered an ACL injury last month on debut for Scottish club Celtic.