Western Sydney Wanderers forward Mark Bridge is happy to settle for a place on the bench for his club's crucial match against Adelaide United on Sunday, despite coming back from a hamstring injury.
The 32-year-old is fit and available for selection but, having missed the past two weeks, admits it is unlikely he will be rushed back into the starting line-up given the competition for places in the forward line and the potential risk of aggravating the injury. Now in the twilight of his career, Bridge has to take more precautions with his body, meaning his initially minor hamstring injury forced a lengthier period on the sideline.
Many happy returns: Mark Bridge scores against Melbourne City earlier this season.
Photo: AAP
"Its a bit of a hard one, my hamstring tendon has tightened up," Bridge said. "At my age, its very high risk to rush it back or do anything silly with it. Weve been extra cautious for the last couple of weeks and its feeling OK now. Fingers crossed."
Aside from his fitness, the form of wingers Alvaro Cejudo and Chris Ikonomidis in the Wanderers' 3-0 win over Brisbane Roar will likely keep Bridge out of the starting line-up on Sunday. The duo were impressive against the Roar and are set to retain their places in the first 11.
"Im up for selection this week, but the team has been doing well, theres no real need to rush into changing it," Bridge said. "The starting team has been doing well. Ive been out for a couple of weeks now and obviously my fitness is down just a little bit from being out for the past couple of weeks. My hamstring feels OK, so well just see what the starting team is tomorrow."
