Zawada in shock return after miracle recovery
Phillip Rollo
Wellington Phoenix’s quest for a maiden A-League Men trophy has received a major boost with confirmation that star striker Oskar Zawada has made a miraculous recovery from a thigh injury.
Zawada, who netted a team-high 15 goals last season, has been cleared to play against Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium tonight, three days after making a shock return to training.
The Polish target man was thought to have played his final game for the Phoenix after being all but ruled out of the rest of the 2023-24 season due to a troublesome thigh.
At the time, coach Giancarlo Italiano said the best case scenario was that Zawada would be back on his feet, able to train again, during the semifinals.
But Zawada is back three weeks ahead of schedule.
Italiano told reporters yesterday that the intention was to give Zawada a run off the bench against Newcastle with a view to building up his minutes for the final-round match against Macarthur in Wellington next Saturday and their home-and-away semifinals.
“Over the last couple of weeks his rehab has gone a lot better than expected. Towards the end of last week he ran uninhibited and was able to get full function with no pain in his leg after the session, which was quite promising,” Italiano said.
“After discussion with the physio, we thought he could be integrated back into training and if he had a good week of training he could be available for some minutes against the Jets.
“I’m not going to throw him in a game if he’s not conditioned, especially an important game like a semifinal, but because we’re still playing for top honours it’s a very delicate one to manage.
“If I have the opportunity to play him against the Jets, it means he has 10 minutes in his legs and against Macarthur if I need him I can push him to 20 or 30 and then for the semifinal he’s not underdone and he can contribute, if he’s available.”
Zawada showed what he can do with limited minutes when he came off the bench and scored a dramatic late winner when the Phoenix and Jets last met, in Newcastle in January.
Zawada was expected to play a big role for the Phoenix this season after they knocked back interest from overseas clubs to retain his services for a second year.
Injuries have restricted him to just 10 appearances in 2023-24 but Italiano believed his star striker would still have a major part to play.
“You saw what he did last year and even the last time we played against the Jets. He won us the three points in the end,” Italiano added. “The fact that he’s back, it gives the boys confidence that if things get a little bit hard that we do have an option off the bench.
“He had plenty of interest to leave but one of the big things he wanted to do this year was to create a legacy at the club I still think he’s in a position to do that.”
The Phoenix head into the penultimate round equal on 49 points with leaders Central Coast Mariners but sat in second due to their inferior win count.
As Central Coast’s next match, against Adelaide United, won’t be played until Sunday, a win or draw would lift the Phoenix back to the top of the table for at least two nights and send the race for the premiership down to the final round.
After juggling numerous injuries and suspension throughout the first 25 rounds, Zawada’s return means Italiano will finally have a fully-fit squad to pick from for the first time this season.