On 28 September, Serie A team Parma announced during training that Australian defender Alessandro Cercati would miss the remainder of the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The 20-year-old featured in both of Australia’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month, which saw Australia lose to Bahrain on the Gold Coast and draw with Indonesia in Jakarta.
Italian-born Cercati, who grew up in Perth, decided to play for Australia despite being eligible to play for Italy and made his debut in a friendly against Australia in October last year under former coach Graham Arnold.
Australia are fifth in their six-nation group after two matches, with only the top two teams guaranteed to reach the final.
The third and fourth-placed teams will advance to the qualifiers starting next October.
Former Australia defender Tony Popovic resigned on Monday following Arnold’s unexpected resignation three days earlier.Appointed captain of the Australian team for the remaining matches of the World Cup Qualifiers .
