"Hernan been saying to us that Carlos looks fitter than ever and he's been very impressed with what he's been told by Carlos about the training facilities and types of training we do here," Victory boss Ernie Merrick told au.fourfourtwo.com.

"Even though the Costa Rican league is probably a little stronger than ours, they seem very happy with how Carlos is developing here and his improved condition."

A torn quadricep incurred three days before the friendly against Juventus on May 30 almost sidelined Hernandez. But the 26-year-old played and scored a brilliant long-range effort in the 4-1 defeat by the Serie A side.

It's expected that Hernandez should be fit for Costa Rica's two crucial CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers this month against Grenada on June 14 and 21.

"If he's fit, he'll play," says Merrick. "And Hernan was keen to point out he hadn't axed Carlos. He should be fine to play but he's over there at the moment with the squad preparing for these two matches."

Meanwhile, Victory return for pre-season on July 1 with much interest centred on new striker Ney Fabiano signed from ACL rivals, Chonburi.

But those Victory players involved in World Cup duty, such as Roddy Vargas and Hernandez, will be given an extra week to recuperate.

And Merrick revealed he'd chatted with Vince Grella about Juve goal threat Raffaele Palladino, who had a standout match with two goals when Juventus visited Telstra Dome.

"Vince told me about him from his time at Torino - he said he'd be the one to watch."