Jason Culina stretches out at Sydney FC training yesterday. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
JASON Culina is poised to play his first game in nearly two years, as his comeback from a potentially career-ending injury nears fruition.
Culina's new club, Sydney FC, hope the 58-times Socceroo will play in a friendly arranged against Western Sydney Wanderers next week to give recovering and under-used players on both sides some game time.
It would represent Culina's first action since breaking down at the Asian Cup in January 2011 - since when he has undergone surgery to remodel his leg and take the pressure of his injured knee.
The behind-closed-doors game next Tuesday will also give Sydney FC's injured players a chance to prove their fitness, with all three - Pascal Bosschaart, Adam Griffiths and Fabio - not ready to face Central Coast Mariners on Saturday.
It will also allow Wanderers boss Tony Popovic, who has used only 17 players out of his 21 in four games, the chance to test the likes of Tahj Minniecon who has successfully played for the youth team in his comeback from injury."The game will give us the chance to give Pascal, Adam, Fabio and hopefully Jason a run and see where they're at," Sydney coach Ian Crook confirmed last night.
"Popa and I both have a few players who haven't played yet so it's a chance to give them a bit of game time too and keep them fresh."
It's understood Culina will decide if he is ready to play, after months of rehab working (initially on a casual basis) with FC physio Stan Ivancic.
But the game would represent another step on an astonishingly brave comeback trail, after he broke down on the eve of last season while contracted to Newcastle Jets.
Culina signed for Sydney for the rest of this season having convinced the club his recovery was almost complete, though his first start in sky blue will prove a hugely symbolic moment.
His readiness for competitive action can't come quickly enough for Crook who conceded that the injuries to various players had hampered his attempts to instil a ball-playing style at Sydney.
Though Sydney recorded a second consecutive win on Sunday, the Sky Blues coach admitted the result did not match the performance.
"I have to be honest, I did think that the game against the Mariners (this coming Saturday) would be the right point to gauge where we're at, given the disruption we had in pre-season, but only if everyone was fit," Crook said.
"Once Bosschaart, Griffiths, Culina and (Joel) Chinanese are back in the mix, then we can start to judge. We didn't play well at the weekend, there's no getting away from that.
"But we've been trying to give the players a message that they should have the confidence to play.
"That's what I've always preached, if you like, and that won't change."
Meanwhile, FC's round two game against Newcastle has been confirmed as the league's highest ever TV rating.
Once Fox Sports consolidated the live viewing figures with those watched on delay the figure became 164,367, beating the 162,471 who watched last year's opener between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.
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