07 Nov Arzani injury a “hammer blow” for Socceroos ahead of Asian Cup: Peacock

Fox Sports football commentator Adam Peacock says the injury to young winger Daniel Arzani is a bitter blow for the Socceroos ahead of their upcoming Asian Cup defence in the UAE.

Arzani will miss the next 12 months after tearing his ACL during Celtic’s League Cup semi-final win over Hearts – his maiden appearance for the club.

The 19-year-old was tipped to play a starring role for Australia, after bursting onto the scene during this year’s World Cup.

“It’s a hammer blow for the Socceroos and the Asian Cup, there’s no way of looking about it,” Peacock told SEN Afternoons.

“We’ve got replacements, guys like Craig Goodwin and Chris Ikonomidis who are certainly in the mix after playing great football at their respective A-League clubs.

“But Arzani is one out of the box – he’s one of a kind and you don’t replace players like that, you just have to somehow make do without them.

“That’s the job for Graham Arnold to do that right now.”

Australia face Jordan in their opening group game on the 6th of January.

Listen to Adam Peacock’s chat on SEN Afternoons with Brett Phillips in the player below