Celtic star Aaron Mooy ruled OUT of Australia squad – SPFL star called-up in his place
AARON MOOY has been ruled out of the Australia squad for the upcoming international break through injury.
The Celtic midfielder has been struggling with muscle soreness in the last couple of weeks which saw him miss the Hoops' 3-1 win over Hibs at Parkhead on Saturday.
Mooy has been a key player for Ange Postecoglou's men since joining the club last summer but he hit a new level once he returned from the World Cup in Qatar.
The midfielder has six goal contributions in his last five matches for Celtic - scoring twice and assisting his team-mates four times.
And he will be a big miss for his national team as he started every match of their World Cup campaign and is one of their most experienced players, having been capped 57 times for his country.
But it's only friendlies they have arranged for this international break as they face Ecuador twice in five days on their home turf.
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Mooy's absence doesn't mean there's any less Scottish Premiership stars in their squad too as a fellow SPFL player has been called up in his place.
St Mirren right-back Ryan Strain will have his chance to prove himself to head coach Graham Arnold over the next couple of weeks.
It isn't his first time in the international set-up as he's been called up twice in the past.
He made his debut in a friendly against New Zealand in September last year.
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And he could double or treble his international tally against Ecuador later this month.
Speaking on Mooy's set-back, Australia boss Arnold revealed that his injury isn't serious and insists he has only stayed in Glasgow to continue his recovery.
He said: “It’s unfortunate for Aaron that he misses these games, something I know he was very much looking forward to playing, but his absence provides an opportunity to a further emerging player as we start this new campaign.
“After speaking with Aaron, who missed this weekend’s game, he would only be able to play limited minutes if he came to Australia, so the decision was made for him to stay in Scotland and continue his recovery."
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