Ukrainian midfielder Evgeniy Levchenko has overcome his calf injury and has deemed himself available to take on Brisbane Roar on Friday night.
Ukrainian midfielder Evgeniy Levchenko has overcome his calf injury and has deemed himself available to take on Brisbane Roar on Friday night.
The injury forced Levchenko to watch last Saturday-s game against Sydney FC from the stands, but the 33 year old is back in full training and hopeful of getting a recall for the trip to Brisbane.
Levchenko admits to being a terrible spectator when he is forced to watch his team play, particularly in the case of last weekend as the Reds were edged out by Sydney FC. Hence he is determined to earn his spot in the starting eleven back straight away so he can be part of the action on the field.
“For me it-s really difficult to watch the game from the side, my palms sweat a lot and you know that you can-t help, but I-m ready now and hopefully against Brisbane I can help,” Levchenko said.
“I don-t have any pain now and I-ve been working really hard on getting my calf right, I-ve been treating it a lot and now it-s feeling really good.”
If Levchenko is given the nod to come straight back into the team, it will be his first trip to Suncorp Stadium but not his first hit out against the Roar. While many of the players in the league may have experienced part of the brunt of the Roar-s amazing 31 game unbeaten streak, the former Ukrainian international has a 100 per cent record against the reigning champions, albeit that occasion being a pre season friendly in Toowoomba. The Reds rolled the Roar 3-0 that night on the bumpy track of Clive Berghofer Stadium, and although most will agree that the score line was irrelevant with nothing hinging on it, Levchenko can feel confident that the Reds can cause an upset.
Levchenko is full of admiration for the Roar and the way Coach Ange Postecoglou has his charges playing, but he says the Reds will head into the match confident of exposing chinks in Brisbane-s armour.
“I like how they (the Roar) play, I like their passing and how they try to play up and press, but of course they have weak moments and I hope we can exploit them,” Levchenko said.
“Every game you have to start with thoughts about winning. It depends on the game, but if you play really well you want to be a winner, so we will see what happens.”
Time for Levchenko and the Reds to put words into action. Kick-Off from Suncorp Stadium on Friday night is at 7.30pm ACDT and the match can be seen LIVE on Fox Sports.
