Sydney FC star Rhyan Grant says he’s as keen as ever to return to the pitch after serving his two-match suspension this month.
Grant returns to the squad for Friday night’s away #BigBlue at AAMI Park and said there’d be no let up in his fitness, after going through three grueling weeks of training with no games.
“I’m pretty keen and eager to get out and play some footy,” Grant said.
“We had the BYE after the two weeks which wasn’t the best timing but we had a couple of in house games last week so the fitness is still there.
“I had a couple of weeks off to refresh and get the body right, but in saying that we’ve trained pretty hard and it’s business as usual without playing a game.
“We did a few harder sessions, with Champions League coming up we used a few of those sessions to get the fitness steady.
“They [Melbourne Victory] had a game last night and they looked good, they’ve got a few players back and we’re always going to be wary of them,” he continued.
“Whenever we play them it’s always a big game for both teams. We’re definitely going to be up for it and we’ll have to match that.
“At the same time we’re quietly confident whoever we play but we know it’s going to be a tough game and we’re looking forward to it.”
Grant stressed the need for the Sky Blues to continue their impressive form that’s seen them cruise at the top of the table in the first half of the season, while the Socceroo also praised the club’s midfield crop in the absence of Brandon O’Neill.
“We’ve been doing extremely well this first half of the season, we know it’s only half way through the league so we need to keep it up,” Grant said.
“Last couple of weeks especially the boys have been great, the boys are pretty keen to get back into it [on Friday night].
“We had four or five weeks without Branners, which in the past maybe would have been difficult to replace, but I thought with the way Brattan, Retre and Caceres playing there at different times they’re all very good players so we didn’t miss too much,” he continued.
“In saying that Branners was a great player for us for a number of years but he’s onto bigger and better things, we’re all stoked for him, but at the same time we’re more than capable here with the players that we have.”
The #BigBlue will take place on Friday 24th January at AAMI Park (kick off 7:30pm AEDT). Watch live on Fox Sports Channel 505, stream on the ‘My Football Live’ app or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for live updates from the clash.
