While named in Australia’s 23-man squad, the Premier League side’s boss David Wagner does not expect the midfielder to play at the Asian Cup.
Australia will assess Aaron Mooy’s knee injury on Friday but Huddersfield Town insist the midfielder will be sidelined for eight weeks, meaning he is unlikely to feature for his country at the Asian Cup.
Mooy was initially ruled out by the Premier League club when they announced the 28-year-old had suffered a torn ligament in his right knee during their 1-0 loss to Arsenal on December 8.
However, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) have sent high performance coordinator – senior physiotherapist Phil Coles – to England to run their own checks on the player.
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Socceroos coach Graham Arnold named Mooy in his 23-man squad on Thursday ahead of the tournament in January and February, despite the uncertainty over his availability.
While accepting the FFA’s wish to carry out their own examination in person, Huddersfield boss David Wagner is adamant they “have no secrets” over Mooy’s health.
“I totally understand that we will support them if they want to have a second opinion,” Wagner told the media.
“They’re absolutely right – he is an important player for them, but this doesn’t change [anything].
“We’d love to have him back earlier, but everything my medical department said and the images seen by the specialist, it’s obvious that he will be out for eight weeks.
“This means for them that it is more or less the whole Asia Cup, depending on how far they go in the tournament.
“We already gave them our images, which we did last week, as well as the report from the specialist. We have no secrets.”
Australia – the defending Asian Cup champions – are alongside Syria, Palestine and Jordan in Group B.