Captain Mile Jedinak has been ruled out of Australia national squad for World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Thailand due to the incapability of recovering from groin injury.
As reported by Sydney Morning Herald, head coach Ange Postecolgou said that he decided to leave out Jedinak after the Aston Villa midfielder made the phone call on his fitness Tuesday night.
“We wanted to give him every chance. He was very keen to be a part of it,” Postecoglou said.
“With it being a fairly long trip and his absence from game time, he felt he wasn’t right and from that perspective ruled himself out.”
On Wednesday, the 51-year-old finalized his extended squad of 30 to 23, with Matthew Spiranovic, Mustafa Amini, Awer Mabil and Smith coming in – and Aziz Behich, Ajdin Hrustic, Jimmy Jeggo and Dylan McGowan going out.
The Socceroos need four points from the two matches, in Tokyo (31 August) and Melbourne (5 September) to safely guarantee a slot at the World Cup finals.