Highly unlikely, though not impossible, that Australia would include someone in World Cup squad who hadn't played competitively since January
Rhys Williams' World Cup dream appears to be over after Aitor Karanka revealed the Socceroo won’t play again for Boro this season.
The 25-year-old suffered a serious Achilles’ heel injury in the draw with Wigan on January 28 and went under the surgeon’s knife a few days later.
Initially, it looked as though the Boro defender was ahead of schedule and last month he said he hoped to be fit and available for selection in time to stake a claim for a place in Australia’s World Cup squad.
But those hopes look to have been dashed with Karanka telling the Gazette: “Rhys is recovering but I don’t think it is possible for him to play this season.”
Realistically, Williams needed to be declared fit for action by the Easter weekend so that he could have got at least three or four games under his belt.
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Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou will name his preliminary 30-man World Cup squad no later than May 16 and it’s highly unlikely - though not impossible - that he would include someone who hadn’t played competitively since January.
The players selected will spend a week together at a training camp before a warm-up match against South Africa on May 26.
Postecoglou has to settle on his final squad of 23 players by June 8.
Karanka knows missing out would be a massive personal setback to Williams, who was also ruled out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa through injury.
“It will be a huge blow if he can’t go to the World Cup, especially as it happened once before,” said the Boro boss.
“It’s the pinnacle of every player’s career and to miss out twice is terrible bad luck, I really feel for him.”
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