Dubai: Socceroos midfielder Tom Rogic is expected to be fit to face Palestine despite breaking a bone his hand in Sunday night's shocking 1-0 defeat to Jordan in their Asian Cup opener.
Rogic played the full 90 minutes in Al Ain but was not at his best, fluffing a couple of decent chances to square the ledger in the second half.
Wounded wizard: Tom Rogic broke a bone in his hand during Australia's 1-0 loss to Jordan.Credit:Nariman El-Mofty
However, it has emerged the 26-year-old hurt his hand in the first half when he tumbled to the deck after chasing a Jordan player who was breaking into Australia's defensive half. The Celtic star sought medical attention from the bench a short time afterwards and had his hand strapped before completing the match.
Rogic had his hand assessed after the match and saw a specialist on Monday in Dubai, where the team has shifted operations ahead of Friday night's clash at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium.
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The injury is not likely to keep Rogic out of the game, but the Socceroos are still awaiting word from the specialist before a definitive call is made either way.
"First of all, every player's heath is paramount to everything. I'm not a doctor so I'll leave that to the specialist," assistant coach Rene Meulensteen said.
"I think there is a few scenarios they're looking at at the moment so we'll have to get the full scale of what we've got to do with that one as soon as we know … whether he can keep playing or not."
Rogic, who is already carrying a knee injury, came in for strong criticism from Socceroos fans after the Jordan defeat, with his influence blunted by the opposition's tactics and his own failure to consistently hit his passing targets. He struggled to find room to play in between the lines and often had to come deep to collect the ball.
But teammate Jackson Irvine said it wasn't fair to expect Rogic to be Australia's messiah or provide the answers to the team's creative troubles on his own.
"He's a very talented player and he's technically one of our most gifted footballers," Irvine said. "[But] this is a 23-man squad and there's 14 who are involved on the day and everyone needs to improve and look at their own individual performances, as I'm sure he will.
"We all need to contribute more in certain areas of the pitch, that's for sure. You start with yourself, look in the mirror and see if you've done enough and where you can help out more."
Vince is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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