After a gruelling schedule of four games in 13 days, the break for the Asian Cup will give the majority of the Sky Blues squad some much needed recovery ahead of the second half of the season.
However for Matt Jurman it won’t be a break and will be all about hard work, as he’ll be working to regain his spot in the first team that has been disrupted through injury and illness.
Having suffered a knee injury in the first week of the season, the defender returned in round 8 against the Western Sydney Wanderers. But he has missed the Sky Blues last five games with an illness which sidelined him following round 9 against Perth in early December.
The 25 year old was very close to a return against the Newcastle Jets in Wollongong but will now be fully fit when the Sky Blues’ Hyundai A-League campaign recommences against the Central Coast Mariners in late January.
“I’m not having any time off so I’m training really hard and getting my fitness back after spending the last two weeks in bed,” said the defender.
“It feels good being back in training and I’m really looking forward to the games coming around again because I’ve hardly played any this season which is something I’m not really used to.
“It’s been frustrating because you want to be out there helping the boys but can’t do anything about it.”
Jurman’s performances last season earned him a new contract and he believes once he is fully fit again, he’ll be able to hold down a first team spot and help the club succeed.
“Personally I want to get back in the team and stay there and I think we can go really far with the players that we have,” he said.
“Once we get one result I think we will go on a good run and we will be very hard to stop with the team that we have.
“Winning the Championship is still a very big possibility, we are only halfway through the season and there is still a lot of time for us to cause some real damage.”
Jurman is hopeful of a return when the Sky Blues next take to the field against the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on January 24.
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