Football: Luongo’s Australia return delayed as injury rules midfielder out of WC qualifiers

Last week, Luongo, a midfielder for Ipswich Town FC in the Premier League, ended his international retirement to join Tony Popovic's expanded 26-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers.

Sydney: Massimo Luongo’s comeback from international retirement has been shelved after the midfielder was ruled out of Australia’s squad for FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan due to an ankle injury.

Last week, Luongo, who plays for Ipswich Town FC in Premier League, came out of international retirement to join Tony Popovic’s extended 26-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers.

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Additionally, another midfielder, Connor Metcalfe, who didn’t play for St. Pauli in the Bundesliga club’s 3-0 loss to Mainz on Sunday morning, was also ruled out of the squad with a leg injury.

“The Socceroos’ medical team were advised of Luongo and Metcalfe’s respective injuries following the official squad announcement on Friday and will continue to work with Ipswich Town FC and FC St Pauli on rehabilitation plans and return to play timelines for both players following more detailed assessment,” the Australian FA said in a statement.

Luke Brattan and Patrick Yazbek have been called in to replace the injured Luongo and Metcalfe.

Yazbek earns a recall for the first time since making his international debut against Lebanon in March 2024, while Brattan joins the Subway Socceroos’ squad for the first time since 2018.

Australia take on China at Adelaide Oval October 10 and will play against Japan at Saitama Stadium in Tokyo on October 15.

Australia are fifth in Group C of the qualifiers, five points behind leaders Japan and three behind second-placed Saudi Arabia.

The AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 will feature three groups of six teams playing in a home-and-away, round-robin format, offering direct qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2026 for the top two finishers of each group.

Sqaud-

Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Joe Gauci, Paul Izzo.

Defenders: Aziz Behich, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Thomas Deng, Jason Geria,

Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Gianni Stensness.

Midfielders: Keanu Baccus, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Luke Brattan, Riley McGree, Patrick Yazbek, Aiden O’Neill.

Forwards: Daniel Arzani, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Nestory Irankunda, Sam Silvera, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Nishan Velupillay.