Former Celtic loanee Daniel Arzani appears to have finally put his injury hell behind him as he gets set to return to the Australia team.
Arzani was one of the brightest prospects around when Manchester City signed him up from affiliate club Melbourne City back in 2018.
He'd just made three appearances at the World Cup, becoming the youngest player at Russia that same summer and the youngest ever to play for Australia at the tournament.
He was given his international debut by Ange Postecoglou 's successor Bert van Marwijk and was tipped for big things on the world stage.
But a loan to Celtic followed where injury swallowed up almost two full seasons of his career.
Arzani managed just two appearances at Parkhead in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns and he's since spent time at Utrecht and Aargus, where injuries have recurred and limited his game-time.
But he finally seems to have found some stability on loan at Lommel SK in the Belgian second tier.
Playing regular football again, he has been drafted into the Australia senior squad and could feature against Vietnam on Tuesday, with Hibs star Martin Boyle an injury doubt.
Manager Graham Arnold said: “He’s such a great kid, such a beautiful kid and I’m just here to support him and support the rest of the players.
"Obviously I’ve had a lot of life experiences in football and just trying to help the kid get back on track.
“We have a lot of conversations, he knows I’m here to support him in his career and, again, what’s important for me is that he fulfils his potential. He’s still got time to do that.
"The kid’s only 21, 22. He’s had a tough last couple of years but I’m 100 per cent sure he will bounce back and get that career back on track.”
Arzani's contract at Man City was due to expire in the summer but they extended his stay, potentially out of solidarity for the youngster who has had an awful time with injuries.
While his chances of making the breakthrough under Pep Guardiola look slim-to-none, they will be hoping to see him kick on and revitalise his career elsewhere.
