Australia captain Mile Jedinak fit to face China in Asian Cup quarter-final

Inspirational captain Mile Jedinak is set to return for Australia as the Socceroos and undefeated China battle for a place in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup on Thursday.

Mile Jedinak, centre, missed Australia's defeat to South Korea but is available to face China in the quarter-finals. Mal Fairclough/AFP

Inspirational captain Mile Jedinak is set to return to the Australia line-up for the Asian Cup quarter-final match against undefeated China on Thursday.

The Crystal Palace midfielder was injured in Australia’s opening Group A win against Kuwait, and sat out the 4-0 drubbing of Oman and Saturday’s narrow loss to South Korea.

“If selected, I’ll be ready. That goes without saying,” said Jedinak, nicknamed “Jedi”.

“Sitting out the last couple of games hasn’t been easy. But it’s given me a little (bit) of time to see what other ways I can help,” he added.

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“Do I think I will be affected by lack of game time the last couple of games? Probably not, but that is just me -- we will have to wait and see.”

Jedinak’s return from an ankle injury is a massive boost for coach Ange Postecoglou, who is expected to return to his first-choice attack of record scorer Tim Cahill and Bayer Leverkusen forward Robbie Kruse.

Postecoglou rued the decision to bench Cahill, Kruse and striker Mathew Leckie for their game against the Koreans when Australia lost 1-0, leaving them with a quarter-final in hot, humid Brisbane and a potential semi against holders Japan in Newcastle.

The stakes are high on Thursday, with defeat likely to set back Australia’s push to popularise football in a country traditionally focused on rugby, cricket and Australian rules.

China, like Australia, have never won the Asian Cup and they are seeking a title which would finally put football’s “sleeping giant” at the top of the regional pecking order.

The Socceroos won’t be at full strength and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defender Alex Wilkinson is expected to replace suspended centre-back Matthew Spiranovic.

They must now overcome a China side that has enjoyed its best ever start to the Asian Cup, winning all three group matches for the first time.

But Postecoglou said he wasn’t thinking about the potential fall-out from a defeat.

“I don’t have a great imagination,” he said. “I am pretty boring in that way. All I see is what is in front of us.”

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