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Fit Kruse eyes Victory's A-League restart

3 minute read

Robbie Kruse is confident he can play a big role when Melbourne Victory return to the field for their final five A-League regular-season games.

ROBBIE KRUSE of Australia is challenged by Mahmoud Al Mawas of Syria during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Playoff match between the Australian Socceroos and Syria at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
ROBBIE KRUSE of Australia is challenged by Mahmoud Al Mawas of Syria during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Playoff match between the Australian Socceroos and Syria at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

A fit Robbie Kruse is confident he can handle the rigours of Melbourne Victory's packed A-League restart schedule despite most of his return season to the competition being decimated by injury.

The Socceroos attacker suffered serious injuries to both hamstrings throughout a difficult campaign but the suspension of the A-League has given him the chance to recover.

"So far it's been really good; I worked hard in the break to get my hammies up to pace so I'm feeling good," Kruse told reporters on Wednesday.

"You can't really control injuries. You can do as much as you can but the proof's when you start playing and I'm doing everything I can and hopefully I can stay injury free."

Victory have five games remaining in the regular season and will condense those fixtures into four weeks, but Kruse was confident they could handle a "difficult schedule".

Kruse has set his sights on on starting Victory's July 16 return match against Western United but is uncertain how he'll be managed through games by interim coach Grant Brebner.

"Physically my hamstrings and my body should be fine, (but) with the closeness of the games, whether I'm going to play every game and play 90 minutes that's up to Grant and the coaches," he said.

"But I'll give myself the best chance to perform at a level I'm capable of."

Kruse is one of a handful of Victory players contracted for next season and said it was important for the club to settle on its next coach.

"Obviously this last season's been not the greatest on the pitch and off the pitch and I think collectively the club needs to hopefully find the right person to take over," Kruse said.

"There's a lot of good coaches out there, you've seen also a lot of new coaches coming into the league with Uffy Talay over in Wellington as well.

"There's coaches out there who can produce the goods so hopefully we can get that sorted and he can have a say in what kind of players he wants to sign."

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