Durante keeps All Whites dream alive
What a difference a day makes.
On Thursday, Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante was set for at least eight weeks on the sidelines with a groin adductor injury, dashing his hopes of being part of the All Whites team to take on Peru in November’s World Cup playoff.
But yesterday, Phoenix coach Darije Kalezic said a more positive outlook had been given by a specialist in Auckland.
‘‘Dura is still in the process of testing and we don’t know the real prognosis of how long he will be out. It can be positive, so let’s wait a couple of days and we will know exactly how long it will take.
‘‘What we have to do now is look forward and I really hope Dura can play much sooner than what the first prognosis was. We’ve already spoken with some experts, doctors from Auckland. It’s possible.
‘‘Let’s look forward, not anymore behind and I hope for Dura that he will come very fast back because he deserves that as a sportsman and a player and as a captain,’’ Kalezic said.
That was backed up by his Phoenix and All Whites team-mate Michael Mcglinchey, who said he could be back in time for the November matches.
‘‘He’s a massive player for us, but hopefully it’s not too serious and he’s back quicker than expected.
‘‘If he is out for that, it will be huge. He’s sort of cemented his spot in that team, but hopefully, the signs are it was worse than it actually is and he could be back quicker.’’
There have been mumerings from the Phoenix camp about perceived overtraining during the All Whites’ Confederations Cup campaign, which Durante was heavily involved in.
Kalezic said he couldn’t comment on what the All Whites did, but said Durante’s groin problems stretched back further than the sports hernia he returned from All Whites duty with.
‘‘I cannot look in the kitchen of the All Whites because I was not there.
‘‘I can only speak about related to the 35 years old player who struggled a lot last season with his health and who can’t play the last two games because of issues, the same issues that he has today. A player who got surgery after the Confederations Cup and who missed a big part of the pre-season. That’s what I can talk about and not what was going on in the time he was with the All Whites.’’
What was certain was Durante’s absence for the Phoenix’s match against Melbourne City in Melbourne tonight. The same could be said for Gui Finkler, who Kalezic said would not travel to Melbourne because of the lingering effects of a calf injury.
Marco Rossi will travel with the squad and should slot into the back four alongside Daniel Mullen.
Kalezic said they would lose a bit at the back without Durante.
‘‘Dura is a [different] type of player to the central defenders we have.
‘‘He is experienced and a player who brings the building up. We showed that against Syndey FC, we were much more patient on the ball with Dura. We are looking for good organised building up and Dura performed in that part of the game very well.’’
Kalezic said Melbourne were a strong team, but believed, based on their strong performance in a 3-2 loss to Sydney last weekend, that they could go to Melbourne and get a good result.
‘‘They have two wins from two games. They’ll play with huge confidence. We have respect for them, but not fear.
‘‘We will go there to make a game and try to win.’’