Tim Cahill has been dropped by Australia coach Ange Postecoglou for the Socceroos’ upcoming World Cup qualifier against Thailand as part of four changes to his squad.
Postecoglou trimmed his initial 30-man list to 23 on Wednesday with Brisbane Roar forward Jamie Maclaren earning a late promotion after scoring his opening goal of the A-League season against Perth Glory on Sunday.
FC Tokyo forward Nathan Burns, Perth Glory full-back Josh Risdon and 1860 Munich defender Milos Degenek were also recalled.
Cahill has been left out of the squad for the match in Bangkok on November 15 as the 36-year-old looks to fully recover from soreness that saw him miss Melbourne City’s win over Adelaide United last week.
Apostolos Giannou, Chris Ikonomidis and Ryan McGowan have also been omitted from the squad that took on Saudi Arabia and Japan in October.
“Tim has been left out primarily because we have a 10-day lead in, which is very rare, and I want to be able to put the squad through a lot of work,” Postecoglou said in a statement.
“He [Cahill] has done a lot of travel for club and country and I have decided it is better he remains in Melbourne where he is being managed well to ensure he is back on the park as soon as possible and ready for us down the track.
“Jamie Maclaren has started the season well in Brisbane and transformed that form into a goal on the weekend so he will come into the squad, as will ‘Burnsy’, which gives us options up front.”
The other players to miss out from the preliminary squad are Aziz Behich, Luke Brattan, Jason Geria and Tommy Oar.
“It was good to have another weekend of matches to look at before deciding on the final 23-man squad and we will travel to Thailand for a solid training camp ahead of what is an important match,” Postecoglou added.
Australia squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Adam Federici (Bournemouth), Mitchell Langerak (Stuttgart), Mathew Ryan (Valencia)
Defenders: Milos Degenek (1860 Munich), Alex Gersbach (Rosenborg), Josh Risdon (Perth Glory), Trent Sainsbury (Jiangsu Suning), Brad Smith (Bournemouth), Matthew Spiranovic (Hangzhou Greentown), Bailey Wright (Preston North End)
Midfielders: Craig Goodwin (Sparta Rotterdam), Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa), James Jeggo (Sturm Graz), Massimo Luongo (QPR), Mark Milligan (Baniyas), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town), Tom Rogic (Celtic)
Forwards: Nathan Burns (FC Tokyo), Tomi Juric (Luzern), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen), Mathew Leckie (Ingolstadt), Jamie Maclaren (Brisbane Roar)
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