Melbourne City’s head coach Michael Matricciani has clarified the situation surrounding Lourdes Bosch’s absence from Saturday’s Ninja A-League Semi-Final first leg and provided updates on key players Holly McNamara and Mariana Speckmaier.
Bosch did not travel to Gosford, where the unbeaten premiers City held Central Coast Mariners to an exciting 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Semi-Final clash.
The American ace was sidelined due to “soreness,” and Melbourne City confirmed she will be reassessed in the lead-up to the second leg in Melbourne on May 10.
Golden Boot winner and CommBank Matildas forward McNamara began the match on the bench after experiencing a “niggle in tracking,” but entered the fray in the 66th minute.
After the contest at Industree Group Stadium, Matricciani addressed inquiries about both players, revealing that Speckmaier will be fit to return for the second leg after being out for nearly two months due to an ankle injury.
“Lourdes has been dealing with a back injury for the past week and a half,” he told Network 10 after the match.
“She hasn’t managed to shake it off. We could have pushed her, but considering the travel, we felt it was wiser to give her a couple of days to rest and ensure she can train fully next week.
“Holly felt a bit of a knock on Tuesday. We got a scan and everything is clear, so we didn’t want to risk starting her too early.
“However, she managed to get through 25-30 minutes off the bench, which was encouraging. She handled it well and should be ready for next week.”
“And we’ve also somewhat forgotten about Speckmaier. She’s been out for five to six weeks, perhaps even six or seven weeks now. She’ll be ready for next week as well.”
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