Once the forgotten man in Melbourne Victory's star-studded attack, a fit and firing Chris Ikonomidis is poised to make a late charge towards a Socceroos recall.
While the likes of Garang Kuol, Jason Cummings and Daniel Arzani have been justifiably pumped up as World Cup prospects, Ikonomidis fell off the radar after a tough, injury-hit 2021-22 season.
But the 27-year-old will head into Saturday's clash with Western Sydney high on confidence after scoring his first Victory A-League Men's goal and recording the winning assist against Sydney FC.
"Maybe. Maybe yes (he is the forgotten man). He didn't score a goal last year in the A-League," coach Tony Popovic told reporters.
"He played his part last year but not as regularly starting with the minutes that he would have liked or we would have liked.
"His talent hasn't wavered and now his body is in fantastic shape and he's starting to remind me of the Chris that I remember from Wanderers and the time I had him at Perth; really confident and dynamic.
"I'm sure that will just keep building throughout the year."
Popovic admitted there would be a temptation to start Ikonomidis against Western Sydney.
"It always gives you something to think about and as a coach you want that," he said.
"We know how talented Chris is and we expect that type of performance from him. I'm glad he produced it.
"He's had a very good pre-season and it was tough decision before the game and I'm sure it will be another one this week."
Marquee Nani recorded an assist against the Sky Blues but Popovic expects the 35-year-old to improve after a limited pre-season.
"He's had a good week this week, we can see there's a bit more sharpness about him at training," Popovic said.
"How much more he can prove I don't know, but we know that as the year goes on we expect to see a better Luis Nani."
The new-look Wanderers are coming off a 1-0 win over Perth and have sold out their away bay at AAMI Park, with Popovic expecting a heated contest.
"They've changed a lot of players and brought in some new foreigners and we didn't know much about them," he said.
"We know what they'll bring tomorrow in terms of their intensity and their spirit and they're coming here and wanting a result."
Tomi Juric (leg) and Matthew Spiranovic (foot) are at least another week away while Jason Geria (hip) won't be fit for next week's derby.
