Melbourne Heart will give captain Harry Kewell until tomorrow morning to prove his fitness ahead of Saturday’s clash against reigning premiers Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park.
Kewell has been absent from training all week, nursing both whiplash and a head gash obtained in Heart’s 0-0 draw against rivals Melbourne Victory.
Coach John Aloisi branded Kewell a “50-50” chance of playing this weekend, but would err on the side of caution with his star player.
“We’re going to leave it to the last minute and give him a fitness test tomorrow morning,” Aloisi said during the clubs final training session of the week.
“If he’s not right, we won’t risk him.”
There are a few attacking options at Aloisi’s disposal should Kewell be deemed unfit to play.
With Maltese striker Michael Mifsud unavailable due to international commitments, and veteran Dylan Macallister also out with a hamstring injury, Aloisi may give youngster Stephan Mauk a debut start in the vacant number 10 role.
The Heart coach remains confident his side will break the goal duck for the new season, even if Kewell is rested for the week.
“We’ve still got Golgol [Mebrahtu] and we’ve still got David Williams. Iain Ramsay scored seven goals for Adelaide last year. Mate [Duganzic] the year before last scored seven goals so we’ve got quite a few goal scorers and we’re confident they can get the goals for us.”
Aloisi was full of praise for the Mariners after their 1-1 draw with the Western Sydney Wanderers, claiming they will be the benchmark for the league in season 2013-14.
“They’re still going to be a very good side…the players they’ve got in there are a little bit different to last season but we took a lot out of [last weeks draw against Western Sydney].”
He was however cautious of paying the Mariners too much respect, stating the onus was on the home side to go out and attack.
“The onus is on us, but we can’t get frustrated and start playing balls that aren’t on. We have to be patient, wait for the right opening, keep the ball moving quickly and see if we can cause them problems when we do get in their half.”
Melbourne Heart take on Central Coast Mariners, 5:30 tomorrow night at AAMI Park.