Melbourne City - and Olyroos - sweat on Tilio injury

The Olyroos will nervously await an update on Marco Tilio's fitness after the Melbourne City winger suffered a quad injury ahead of Australia's Olympic qualifiers.

The upcoming U23 Asian Cup in Qatar doubles as qualification for the Paris Olympics and Tilio, who scored in the Tokyo Games, was due to depart Melbourne in coming days for the tournament.

Tilio was ruled out of Saturday night's 2-1 derby loss to Melbourne Victory with what City called a "minor quad injury" after pulling up sore from their loss to Central Coast.

The 22-year-old had only recently returned to action from a hamstring tendon injury.

City and Football Australia medical staff were liaising regarding the severity of Tilio's new setback.

"We'll know more in the next couple of days," stand-in City coach Raffaele Napoli said.

"Post-game, he pulled up - he obviously got through the game but didn't respond well. So we'll know more of it in the next day or two.

"I'm assuming he'll get assessed in the morning."

Australia open their campaign against Jordan on April 15, then face Indonesia and Qatar in their other two group matches on April 18 and 22.

The Olyroos must finish in the top three to qualify directly for Paris, with the fourth-placed team to take on Guinea in a play-off.

City will also be without right-back Callum Talbot while the Olyroos are away, given the tournament happens outside an international break.

"At the moment Scotty's (Galloway) out too so we've got a bit of thinking to do and work out what we're gonna do," Napoli said.

City are four points behind sixth-placed Western Sydney with three games to go and their finals in the balance.

"There's nine points up for grabs, it's there for the taking," Napoli said. "It's not gonna be easy. We've still got to play the Wanderers. 

"But we play them in two weeks, so we're not even thinking about that. 

"We've got to recover, get right, reflect on the performance, improve and focus on Perth because they're another tough team."

Coach Aurelio Vidmar is expected to return to the touchline after missing three games through illness.

"He's improving. It was quite a serious illness he had," Napoli said.

"But he's improving a hell of a lot, he's connecting with the boys a lot, he spoke to the boys today.

"So I think all systems go next week and we'd all love to have him back."

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store