Alex Wilkinson added to Socceroos squad

Alex Wilkinson has been brought into Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroo squad to meet Ecuador at The Den in London on Wednesday 5 March.

Alex Wilkinson has been brought into Ange Postecoglou-s Socceroo squad to meet Ecuador at The Den in London on Wednesday 5 March following the withdrawal of Aston Villa defender Chris Herd.

The 29-year-old Jeonbuk Motors defender will arrive in London later today, rejoining his Socceroo team mates after he was part of the camp leading into the 1-0 win over Costa Rica last November

Herd has been withdrawn from the Socceroos squad after Aston Villa confirmed today that the 24-year-old would be unavailable for selection until further notice due to personal reasons.

“We have been made aware that Chris will be unavailable for selection at club level until further notice as he works through some personal issues and we will respect that and have replaced him in the squad for the Ecuador game,” Postecoglou said.

“That presents another opportunity for Alex Wilkinson to come into the camp. He did well in the camp in Sydney last November when we played Costa Rica and he has a chance to put his best foot forward, like everyone else, in relation to World Cup selection.” The updated 23-man Socceroos squad to face Ecuador at The Den (London) on Wednesday 5 March 2014 is: Oliver BOZANIC (FC Luzern, SWITZERLAND), Tim CAHILL (New York Red Bulls, USA), Jason DAVIDSON (SC Heracles Almelo, NETHERLANDS), Ivan FRANJIC (Brisbane Roar FC, AUSTRALIA), Curtis GOOD (Dundee United FC, SCOTLAND), James HOLLAND (FK Austria Vienna, AUSTRIA), Brett HOLMAN (Al Nasr Sports Club, UAE), Mile JEDINAK (Crystal Palace FC, ENGLAND), Brad JONES (Liverpool FC, ENGLAND), Mitchell LANGERAK (B.V. Borussia 09 Dortmund, GERMANY), Mathew LECKIE (FSV Frankfurt 1899, GERMANY), Massimo LUONGO (Swindon Town FC, ENGLAND), Ryan MCGOWAN (Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, CHINA), Matthew MCKAY (Brisbane Roar FC, AUSTRALIA), Mark MILLIGAN (Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA), Tommy OAR (FC Utrecht, HOLLAND), Tommy ROGIC (Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA), Matt RYAN (Club Brugge KV, BELGIUM), Adam SAROTA (FC Utrecht, HOLLAND), Matthew SPIRANOVIC (Western Sydney Wanderers FC, AUSTRALIA), Dario VIDOSIC (FC Sion, SWITZERLAND), Alex WILKINSON (Jeonbuk Hyundai FC), Luke WILKSHIRE (FK Dinamo Moscow, RUSSIA).

MATCH DETAILS: Socceroos v Ecuador The Den, London Wednesday 5 March 2014 8pm kick off (6 March 7.00am AEDT)

The Socceroos v Ecuador match will be broadcast LIVE and Exclusive on FOX Sports 3 with a 30-minute pre-game show starting at 6.30am (AEDT) ahead of the 7.00am kick off.

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