TILIO EYES SOCCEROOS RETURN AFTER INJURY COMEBACK

Resurgent Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio is targeting a return to the Socceroos squad after a year-long injury battle. The 23-year-old is back in form just in time for Australia’s upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia and China later this month.

Tilio, whose last Socceroos appearance came against Uzbekistan in January 2023, is hoping to impress national coach Tony Popovic when City hosts Newcastle at AAMI Park on Wednesday night. With the squad announcement looming on Friday, it could be his final chance to stake a claim.

“I’ve just been worried about playing, and playing consistently, and putting myself out there for the team,” Tilio said. “I’ve been trying to put this string of games together and have good form to put myself in that (Socceroos) window, but ultimately I just wanted to be out there playing football.”

After a lengthy hamstring injury, Tilio has scored two goals in his past four matches, showing glimpses of the quality that earned him a move to Scottish giants Celtic. For now, his focus is on helping City climb the A-League ladder, with a win against the Jets cutting Auckland FC’s lead at the top to just four points.

“There are so many of us that have had spells on the sideline, and we’re slowly all coming together now,” he said. “We’ve had a good run of games, and I think we’re only going to get stronger. We know we’re up for a big game, but the main thing is to just focus on ourselves and hopefully get three points.”

As for his future, Tilio remains uncertain. On loan from Celtic, he admitted discussions about next season are still in the early stages.

“There has been a little bit of chat but nothing concrete yet,” he said. “I’m sure in the next couple of months the conversations will start to ramp up. My only thought is to play, play well, and put myself out there to have better options to consider at the end of this season.”

For now, Tilio’s eyes are firmly on the pitch — and possibly a green and gold jersey.