Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay has confirmed star winger Joe Lolley is fit and available to start this weekend’s Sydney Derby but admits he has a decision to make over the fitness of central defender Marcel Tisserand.
33-year-old Lolley has been sidelined since Sydney’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle Jets in late December due to a hamstring injury.
Brought on as a substitute in the 68th minute of that clash, Lolley then re-injured the same hamstring that had previously kept him out of action and has been sidelined ever since.
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However Talay has confirmed the Englishman is now primed and ready for action in this weekend’s blockbuster Sydney Derby against the Wanderers at Allianz Stadium.
“He’s good to go. He’s ticked all the boxes. I think he hit 96% in his sprints the other day at training, which is very good,” said Talay, when speaking at a joint Sydney Derby press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“Mentally, he’s in the right place. He feels like he’s ready to go. And physically, he’s in a great place as well.
“He’s ready to start if we want to start him. He’s ready to come off the bench, if we’re happy to do that as well.
Joe Lolley
“Whatever the game plan is – I won’t let you know what the game plan is – but yeah, look, Joe’s in a great place mentally and physically and he’s missed it for for quite a while.
“He’s happy to be back.”
There was yet more good news for Sky Blues fans with confirmation experienced central defender Alex Grant will be available for selection.
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The 32-year-old was subbed off during the 4-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory with suspected concussion, however subsequent medical examinations have confirmed that wasn’t the case, meaning he is now set to feature.
Also subbed off during that heavy Big Blue defeat was Grant’s central defensive partner, DR Congo international Tisserand.
The off-season signing has quickly established himself as a key member of the Sky Blues’ defensive unit this season but has failed to play more than sixty minutes in each of his last three matches due to a stress fracture in his foot.
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The 33-year-old was clearly struggling before Victory scored the opening goal of their 4-0 win over Sydney and was immediately substituted, leaving Talay with a selection headache ahead of the clash with the Wanderers.
“Yeah, look, we always want our best players on the park, and I’m a big believer that I’m happy to have my best players on the park for 60 minutes,” said Talay.
Marcel Tisserand
“And if they give us a good 60 minutes, and hopefully we can get the desired result by then, then we make changes within the game.
“I always like to make changes that influence the game as the game flows. These are decisions that need to be made.
Talay went on to say: “Look, Marcel, I think is a very important player for us. You know, whether he gets to 45, 60 and we’ll push him again to see where he gets to.
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“We’re designed to set up a certain way with the players that we have. We try to use their best attributes more often rather than less, and we just try to deny those spaces that players can run into.
He added: “Marcel is very important to us, and he’s very important to us as a group.”
The Sky Blues came in for heavy criticism following their 4-0 demolition in the Big Blue, with Talay himself believing his side failed to do the basics correctly at AAMI Park.
Ufuk Talay
However, despite that result, Sydney FC know that should results go their way this weekend then a win over the Wanderers could see them jump up into top spot on the ladder.
“We definitely need a response,” said Talay.
“We’re still in a great spot. We’re still in a great position. We still have a game in hand that you still need to win, but I think a win and three points puts us in a great place going away to Auckland, which is another massive game for us.
“But we need to focus on what we need to do and how we need to do it this weekend.
“And one of the main focus is that desire to actually go out there and perform and play well first, and then we believe we’ll get the desired outcome.”
The Sky Blues were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline in the first Sydney Derby of the season as striker Alou Kuol handed the Western Sydney Wanderers a crucial win at CommBank Stadium.
