Nestory Irankunda cleared for Socceroos duties after Bayern Munich injury scare – MASHAHER

Nestory Irankunda will be named in Graham Arnold’s Socceroos squad for next week’s World Cup qualifier on the Gold Coast after being cleared of serious injury following a training ground incident at Bayern Munich.

Footage of the 18-year-old writhing in pain on the ground on Wednesday, after teammate Joao Palhinha accidentally stepped on his foot in a drill during a session with Bayern’s youth team, sparked immediate fears that Australia’s most exciting young player could be sidelined for an extended period – as did subsequent reports that he had to be carried away on a golf cart.

But in a major relief for Arnold – and for Bayern manager Vincent Kompany, who looks set to integrate the former Adelaide United ace in his first team in the coming weeks – the Bundesliga club’s medical staff have given Irankunda the all-clear, paving the way for him to be selected in Arnold’s Socceroos squad, which will be revealed on Friday.

Irankunda made his international debut in June, setting up a goal in a 2-0 win over Bangladesh, before scoring one for himself from the penalty spot in a 5-0 victory against Palestine in Perth – after which he reported for duty at Bayern Munich, who bought him for a reported $1.2 million earlier this year in a deal that includes significant other bonuses for Adelaide which will be triggered when he hits specified on-field benchmarks.

He is yet to play a senior match for Bayern, whose streak of 11 consecutive titles was broken last season, but Irankunda has barely put a foot wrong in his first pre-season at Germany’s biggest club, and it appears a role as a regular bench player is within reach. Last week, he played his first game for Bayern’s reserves team, which plays in a regional competition in the fourth tier of German football. He found the back of the net twice in a 5-0 win.

For the Socceroos, he looms as a potential game-breaker in the third round of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Players will begin to assemble on the Gold Coast over the weekend ahead of Thursday night’s clash with Bahrain at Cbus Super Stadium. Australia will then travel to Jakarta to face Indonesia on September 10.

With the A-League season a month away, Arnold is expected to name only one or two locally based players, with Aziz Behich a likely call-up in the injury-enforced absence of left-back Jordan Bos, who hurt his hamstring while playing for Westerlo in their Belgian Pro League opener.