Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic is unsure if new signing Nikita Rukavytsya will be fit enough to start against Sydney FC on Saturday, with the Socceroos international not arriving in the country until Wednesday.
The 27-year-old former Perth Glory wideman has signed a one-year deal with the A-League club, ending a difficult stint with German Bundesliga outfit Mainz.
Rukavytsya hasn’t played for Mainz since August 2012 and spent most of last year out on loan with Bundesliga 2 side FSV Frankfurt and Popovic will wait until seeing him in training before making a decision on his availability.
“Nikita arrives tomorrow, which is good news,” Popovic said on Tuesday.
“He’s an Australian international and has been in Germany for a while now but needs a fresh start.
“He hasn’t had a lot of game time this season and I think it’s a good opportunity for us both to help each other.
“He will be a great addition to our squad and we hope we can get him to enjoy his football again.
“We’ll assess him when he arrives, he has done some form of pre-season, I am just not sure how much of it was with the first team.
source: theage.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 