As Aaron Mooy boarded a train back to Huddersfield after injuring his knee against Arsenal, he happened to bump into the player who may well end up replacing him in the Socceroos midfield.
By chance, Jackson Irvine was on the same train and also making his way home to Hull following his team's 2-2 English Championship draw with Millwall in London on the same day.
Time to shine: Jackson Irvine's opportunity to establish himself as a Socceroos starter has arrived.Credit:AAP
Mooy didn't know it at the time, but his hopes of playing at the Asian Cup were cooked. He managed to complete the full 90 minutes at Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal scored the only goal late in the match, but discovered afterwards that he had torn the medial ligament in his right knee in the process. It took a second and third medical opinion for Socceroos staffers to belatedly accept the grim diagnosis.
Irvine could see the discomfort and concern written all over Mooy's face.
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"He wasn't fully aware of the extent of it at the time but obviously extremely disappointed to have picked up anything, as you would be at that stage," Irvine said.
"I texted him a few days later after he was waiting to see his results. I used to room with him over the years, as well with the Socceroos. I'd call him a friend. I'm gutted for the guy . . . I knew how much he wanted to be a part of this."
As it happens, Irvine stands to profit perhaps more than anybody else from Mooy's absence. The 25-year-old from Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs has been in and around the Australian set-up for years, racking 24 caps – the majority of them off the bench.
Cruel blow: Aaron Mooy, one of Australia's most influential players, won't compete in the Asian Cup.Credit:AAP
But with some terrific club form for mid-table Hull under his belt, Irvine is among the leading contenders to slot into the midfield vacancy that Mooy has left.
Irvine has played 22 matches in all competitions for Hull City so far this season and scored five goals, including a double in a 2-1 win over Preston North End on Boxing Day in his last appearance before heading to the United Arab Emirates to link up with his Socceroos teammates.
"I've found myself as a regular in the squad over the last few years. It's always been something I've wanted to do, to be able to cement myself in the team," Irvine said.
"But we're all here to contribute. We have a 23-man squad and the gaffer will pick the players he thinks are most capable to do the job. We all have to be ready. It's good to come into the camp in good form with my club and give myself every opportunity to take one of those starting spots."
With Massimo Luongo and Tom Rogic considered locks for the other two midfield positions, Irvine will get a huge opportunity to stake his claim in Australia's final warm-up friendly against Oman on Sunday (11pm AEDT) in Dubai.
He has two major attributes on his side – versatility and durability. Irvine has filled the "Mooy role" for Hull this season, conducting the play from a deep midfield position, as well as playing as a holding midfielder, a No.10 and even on the left side of a midfield diamond. And he will have no problems backing up between matches at the Asian Cup given the physical demands of England's rough-and-tumble second tier.
"It's a ruthless league, in the sense that it doesn't give you the opportunity for optimal recovery times when you're playing three, four games in a very short space of time," Irvine said.
"A lot of us are hitting our best years domestically and starting to reach that 30-40 cap mark, and we feel we've got the experience now to be able to compete at this level with the group of players that we have."
Vince is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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As Aaron Mooy boarded a train back to Huddersfield after injuring his knee against Arsenal, he happened to bump into the player who may well end up replacing him in the Socceroos midfield.
By chance, Jackson Irvine was on the same train and also making his way home to Hull following his team's 2-2 English Championship draw with Millwall in London on the same day.
Time to shine: Jackson Irvine's opportunity to establish himself as a Socceroos starter has arrived.Credit:AAP
Mooy didn't know it at the time, but his hopes of playing at the Asian Cup were cooked. He managed to complete the full 90 minutes at Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal scored the only goal late in the match, but discovered afterwards that he had torn the medial ligament in his right knee in the process. It took a second and third medical opinion for Socceroos staffers to belatedly accept the grim diagnosis.
Irvine could see the discomfort and concern written all over Mooy's face.
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"He wasn't fully aware of the extent of it at the time but obviously extremely disappointed to have picked up anything, as you would be at that stage," Irvine said.
"I texted him a few days later after he was waiting to see his results. I used to room with him over the years, as well with the Socceroos. I'd call him a friend. I'm gutted for the guy . . . I knew how much he wanted to be a part of this."
As it happens, Irvine stands to profit perhaps more than anybody else from Mooy's absence. The 25-year-old from Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs has been in and around the Australian set-up for years, racking 24 caps – the majority of them off the bench.
Cruel blow: Aaron Mooy, one of Australia's most influential players, won't compete in the Asian Cup.Credit:AAP
But with some terrific club form for mid-table Hull under his belt, Irvine is among the leading contenders to slot into the midfield vacancy that Mooy has left.
Irvine has played 22 matches in all competitions for Hull City so far this season and scored five goals, including a double in a 2-1 win over Preston North End on Boxing Day in his last appearance before heading to the United Arab Emirates to link up with his Socceroos teammates.
"I've found myself as a regular in the squad over the last few years. It's always been something I've wanted to do, to be able to cement myself in the team," Irvine said.
"But we're all here to contribute. We have a 23-man squad and the gaffer will pick the players he thinks are most capable to do the job. We all have to be ready. It's good to come into the camp in good form with my club and give myself every opportunity to take one of those starting spots."
With Massimo Luongo and Tom Rogic considered locks for the other two midfield positions, Irvine will get a huge opportunity to stake his claim in Australia's final warm-up friendly against Oman on Sunday (11pm AEDT) in Dubai.
He has two major attributes on his side – versatility and durability. Irvine has filled the "Mooy role" for Hull this season, conducting the play from a deep midfield position, as well as playing as a holding midfielder, a No.10 and even on the left side of a midfield diamond. And he will have no problems backing up between matches at the Asian Cup given the physical demands of England's rough-and-tumble second tier.
"It's a ruthless league, in the sense that it doesn't give you the opportunity for optimal recovery times when you're playing three, four games in a very short space of time," Irvine said.
"A lot of us are hitting our best years domestically and starting to reach that 30-40 cap mark, and we feel we've got the experience now to be able to compete at this level with the group of players that we have."
Vince is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
