Bailey Wright insists he has 'big ambitions' at international level as Australia look to take another step towards the 2022 World Cup - even though the Sunderland defender was not included in coach Graham Arnold's 31-man squad for next month's qualifiers due to family reasons.
The Socceroos have not had a game for 18 months, with Australia implementing strict border controls to counter the Covid pandemic.
But they return to action at the end of next week with four qualifiers hosted in Kuwait, with Australia set to face fellow Group B sides Kuwait, Chinese Taipei, Nepal, and Jordan.
Sunderland boss Lee Johnson revealed ten days ago that Wright's wife is due to give birth on Sunday - the day of the League One play-off final - and at that stage the club was still involved in the play-offs, meaning plans had to be put in place for all eventualities.
In the end, it was a non-issue as Sunderland lost out in the play-off semi-final last weekend, but the situation has also had an impact as far as the Australia squad is concerned with Wright and Arnold agreeing that the 28-year-old should miss these fixtures because the quarantine regulations surrounding international travel added an extra layer of complexity.
"We have four games coming up in June," Wright told ChronicleLive.
"We haven't played for a long time because, where Covid is concerned, Australia is extremely strict and has locked down the borders so we haven't been able to have a home game for a long time, or an away game because logistically - in terms of where players have to come from and get to - we probably have the toughest ask of any team in the world.
"So it's just great to have four of our World Cup qualifiers on next month.
"I'm very much part of discussions and I speak regularly to the manager and other players.
"I have big ambitions with both club and country, and hopefully Australia can win their games in June and move a step closer to the next year's World Cup finals."
Wright has been capped by Australia 24 times, and scored on his senior international debut in 2014.
His most recent outing for the Socceroos came in October 2019, when he started the 5-0 World Cup qualifying win against Nepal in Canberra.
