Celtic's on-song Aaron Mooy has been hit with an injury concern a week before he's due to spearhead the Socceroos' homecoming in Sydney.
The 32-year-old midfielder, who's become a key name on Ange Postecoglou's Celtic teamsheet, will miss the Scottish champions' Premiership match against Hibernian on Saturday.
Postecoglou revealed that, at a push, Mooy could have played but he'd opted against it as the Australian international had been carrying "soreness" for a couple of weeks during their hectic schedule in which they're seeking a domestic trophy treble.
It sounds minor enough to suggest Mooy should be okay to play in the Socceroos' double header against Ecuador in Sydney on March 24 and four days later in Melbourne, their first matches since their heroic World Cup campaign in which the Celtic man played such a significant part.
"Aaron Mooy will miss out (against Hibernian), he has been a bit sore the last couple of weeks and probably won't be able to get up for this weekend," Postecoglou told reporters.
"At a push, he could have played but with a two-week break we have decided to leave him out."
Mooy's absence comes at a time when his star has never been higher at Celtic, with former England defender Paul Parker hailing him earlier this week as still being good enough to return to the Premier League years after his previous impressive spell for Huddersfield.
Mooy arrived at Parkhead on a free transfer in the summer after a couple of years playing in the Chinese Super League, with many sceptics wondering why Postecoglou, who once managed him when he was Socceroos' boss, would bother offering him a two-year deal.
His performances at the World Cup and particularly since his return from Qatar, as he's gone on to spearhead Celtic's League Cup triumph and their runaway lead in the Premiership, have shown exactly why.
