“What's his name? I call him 'Blockhead'”, Milicevic said about Wellington's Kiwi full back Tony Lochhead who scythed down the Victory defender after two minutes of the clash in Wellington.

“A week earlier he nearly put Nik Mrdja out for the season with a bad tackle and the next week he got me. He's uncoordinated. Players like him need to be punished. This guy's getting away with it.

“If I've hurt a player in a tackle, I'll always go up to the guy and see if he's okay. We should play hard but respect fellow professionals.”

The 26-year-old Socceroo added that referees need to protect all players, not just the smaller skillful ones. “Because we're big players we're not getting any favours from refs,” he said. “We're being victimised.

"I played on but didn't let on I was on trouble otherwise Smeltzy [Shane Smeltz] would've tried to get around me. I played tentatively from that point on and couldn't turn, I could just run straight."

Meanwhile, Milicevic has poured cold water on his own claims he'd be back playing by mid-September. “Maybe saying that wasn't the best thing to do because the most important thing is to come back 100% fit," he admitted.

“I don't want to return too soon then injure it again, then you're having to have an operation and suddenly you're out for three months.”

The former FC Thun, Young Boys Berne and Perth Glory defender's career has been blighted by injury. At the U/20 World Cup in Argentina in 2001, he suffered a serious knee injury and he was also injured before the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“Today was the first day I've been able to walk without pain," he revealed. "I've got to come back not only better than the average bloke but fitter.

“In the past maybe I've been dumber about my recovery. I've got one of the best doctors in Dr David Young looking after me.

"He's the guy who looks after the Olympians and AFL players. He said it was a 4-6 week injury so me saying I'd be back mid-September adds to expectations.”

Milicevic added: “I'm still a young bloke. There's no need to rush it.”

Wellington play Victory next in round 14 at Telstra Dome on November 24 and again in round 20 at the same venue.