The Under 23 captain landed back in Sydney this morning with the rest of his colleagues and while delighted with the team's efforts, couldn't hide his personal disappointment.

Milligan's hopes of joining Pim Verbeek's squad in Brisbane have been thwarted by a virus picked up at the Intercontinental Cup.

The former Sydney FC man told au.fourfourtwo.com: "Ruben Zadkovich had something a few days before me, a virus, and I've picked it up a few days later.

"They don't want me to risk taking it into Socceroo camp at the moment. Absolutely gutting. I've worked hard to get myself back into the team. It's just one of those things though, there's not much that can be done about it."

Putting aside his personal disappointment, Milligan had nothing but praise for his colleagues' efforts in reaching the Intercontinental Cup final.

Still to fix himself up with a new club, Milligan said: "It was good to play in those conditions over there.

"The squad was really tested when a few of the boys left early for the Socceroos' Ghana game.

"We only conceded two goals on the way to the final and I think the boys played extremely well throughout the tournament and worked very hard."