Socceroo, Olyroo pair nearing A-League return: 'He is a superstar'

Assistant coach Ross Aloisi says his star A-League pair are nearing their return; Socceroos winger Craig Goodwin is nearly back to full fitness with ex Olyroo Stefan Mauk also on the recovery road.

It appears that Adelaide United have two crucial players on the mend ahead of the upcoming A-League Men's season. According to United's assistant coach Ross Aloisi, Craig Goodwin and Stefan Mauk are on their way to making a return to full fitness.

Adelaide United Squad News

Craig Goodwin nearly back to full fitness as he resumes training with the team.
Goodwin had his loan deal with Adelaide United extended in July.
Stefan Mauk is also on his way back from injury after surgery in August.
Assistant coach Ross Aloisi said that the club is most likely done signing ahead of this season.

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Goodwin returned to the A-League partway through last season on loan from Saudi Arabian side Abha. He had made a great return, starting 18 times and finding the back of the net on 8 occasions before he picked up an ankle injury at the end of the last A-League season.

The winger had surgery in late June, with his club extending his loan with United for the upcoming A-League Men's season in early July. Goodwin has since been working to get back to full fitness ahead of the upcoming campaign and returned to training with the squad on October 21, 2021.

His club have done well prior to the start of the season. Adelaide United beat Floreat Athena 3-1 in the FFA Cup Round of 32, Adelaide Olympic by a scoreline of 1-0 in the FFA Cup Round of 16 and recently won against Para Hills 2-1 in a preseason friendly.

However, all these teams are NPL sides. Increasing the club's attacking capacity will be required during the upcoming A-League Men's season.

Prior to his injury last year, Goodwin was producing very impressive attacking numbers. According to fellow FTBL writer Vincent Massare, he averaged 0.64xGA per 90 minutes upon his return to the A-League. He also scored more than his expected goal total.

This made Goodwin one of the most productive attacking players in the league. Speaking on SEN SA Breakfast to Kane Cornes and Andrew Hayes, Adelaide's assistant head coach Ross Aloisi spoke of Goodwin's return and impact on the team:

"He is a superstar.

"I explained to the younger boys as well the hardships that he went through to become a professional footballer.

"He got rejected a couple of times by Adelaide United youth teams and had to go into state.

"The guy - his worth ethic is fantastic. He is great around the boys. He knows that he is an important player just like everyone else in our team. I think he is going to have a good season.

"I definitely spoke to him about his fitness level, that it had be a lot better than it was last season. It wasn't his fault. He just came into the season late with us."

According to Aloisi, club captain Stefan Mauk is also on his way back to fitness. The midfielder had picked up a persistent leg injury during the 2020-21 season for which he was ultimately operation on in August.

Aloisi spoke about his captain when discussing both players' return from injury:

"Stefan Mauk hasn't played a game all preseason as well. He is is coming back from his operation as well. He is close to starting.

"We have a lot of good experienced players coming back into the group. It is all pretty positive."

The return of both players will boost Adelaide United.

According to Aloisi the club is done recruiting for this season. While the assistant coach stated on SEN SA Breakfast that United were hoping to get Lachland Brook on loan, this will most likely not occur. Aloisi went on to say that any new recruits will probably occur during the January window.

Adelaide United open their A-League campaign on November 20, 2021 against Perth Glory. They have currently qualified for the quarter-finals of the FFA Cup, the only team to have done so in this year's campaign due to the delayed rescheduling of most Round of 32 matches to November.