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Roar won't rush Japan forward in A-League

3 minute read

Despite Brisbane struggling to find the back of the net in their A-League opener against Melbourne City, the Roar won't rush in Japanese forward Masato Kudo.

Scott McDonald of Millwall celebrates scoring their first goal during the FA Cup on London, England.
Scott McDonald of Millwall celebrates scoring their first goal during the FA Cup on London, England. Picture: Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Brisbane Roar won't rush Japanese forward Masato Kudo into their team despite lacking a cutting edge in their season opener against Melbourne City.

The Roar fell to a 1-0 defeat at Redcliffe's Dolphin Stadium on Tuesday but were the better team for long patches against last year's grand finalists.

Starting forward Dylan Wenzel-Halls and veteran ex-Socceroo Scott McDonald were both guilty of missing gilt-edged chances against City.

Kudo, a J-League winning forward with international experience, has ended his hotel quarantine but Roar coach Warren Moon will not bring the 30-year-old straight into his team for Saturday's clash with Melbourne Victory.

"Masato might be a couple more weeks unfortunately. He's only just come out of quarantine," Moon said.

"We'll assess him this week in training and next week and see where he's at.

"Obviously another quality player that we want to get out there, as quick as we can, but we'll have to just wait and see on that one."

While Roar fans will have to wait to see Kudo in action, one positive from Tuesday's defeat was the composed midfield display by his compatriot Riku Danzaki.

The 20-year-old was at the heart of most of the Roar's build-up play and created a great opening for Wenzel-Halls in the first half.

"He's a good player. We bought him from a J-League club, Sapporo, on loan and they think very highly of him. So do we," Moon said.

"We're lucky to have him and I thought tonight he was pretty good.

"Riku can get better. He's still a bit underdone physically."

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