Roar welcome back star internationals

Internationals Thomas Broich and Henrique will make their long-awaited returns to the A-League for Brisbane against Sydney on Saturday

German Broich’s return from an eight-game lay-off with a heel injury will be welcomed by Roar fans, who have seen their side take just one win in his absence.

But while the Roar have their German maestro and Brazilian livewire back, Albanian Besart Berisha remains in serious doubt, leaving coach Ange Postecoglou with an unconfirmed line-up.

“(Berisha) is still quite optimistic, but we’ll see. He’ll probably do the warm up tomorrow and we’ll go from there. We’ll probably play without him, to be honest, but if he comes up that’ll be good,” Postecoglou said.

“We’re unlikely to start both (Henrique and Broich), so maybe one of the two. It’ll depend on how (Berisha) is going, as to who we’ll start, but neither of them are really ready for 90 minutes, so we maybe we’ll alternate both of them.”

“At training this week, it’s been really positive and bright. They add a little bit extra and something different to what we do, and it’s great to have them back, not just for them, but it gives the other players a boost as well.”

Despite the cloud hovering over the A-League’s leading goal-scorer, the confidence in the reigning champions’ camp has elevated.

Postecoglou admitted having the pair return would give an injection of creativity and goal-mouth flair. And that just may be enough for the Roar to return to their winning ways, with net-finders the only part missing through a slump in which they have still dominated field position and possession.

“It’s been a good week of training and I think for the first time since they’ve been injured that they’re really comfortable,” he said.

“It’s handy, because that front half is where we’ve been hit the hardest, and now we’ve got some options and depth.”

Meanwhile, leading Sydney FC players say the uncertainty surrounding the future of coach Vitezslav Lavicka has nothing to do with their current form slump.

Lavicka’s future has been the focus of much conjecture in recent weeks as the Sky Blues have slipped down the table on the back of three straight defeats.

The Sydney boss is off-contract at the end of the season and the Sydney board are under pressure to make a definitive decision on the way forward for the club.

A final decision on Lavicka’s future at Sydney is expected before the end of the month.

The coaching saga has been an unwanted distraction for the Sky Blues as they look to consolidate their spot in the top six but a couple of their stars have quashed suggestions it’s affecting their performances on the field.

“The boys are all professional players, a lot of the boys have been doing it for a very long time,” Sydney FC forward Mark Bridge said on Friday.

“Whatever is in the papers, you read but as soon as you cross that line you stop thinking about it and you do your job, whoever is the coach.”