Melbourne Victory boss Kevin Muscat hasn’t ruled out giving Japanese star Keisuke Honda a debut in Tuesday night’s FFA Cup 2018 Round of 16 clash against APIA Leichhardt in Sydney.
Honda touched down in Melbourne this week and was unveiled at a press conference at AAMI Park on Wednesday morning.
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The 32-year-old was assessed by medical staff on his arrival and will begin training with his new teammates on Thursday.
While admitting he would take a cautious approach with his star recruit, Muscat is open to unleashing the former ACL Milan playmaker against the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.
“I’m not ruling it out," the Victory boss told reporters on Wednesday.
“We’ll start working immediately to see how he is physically.
“There will be no risks taken but we’ll see how he is and when he’s ready he’ll make his debut.”
The possible debut of Honda will add even more spice to what should be a cracking FFA Cup tie between the Hyundai A-League club and the NSW NPL high-flyers.
APIA is one of the strongest Member Federation clubs left in the competition and have a Japanese star of their own in attacker Tasuku Sekiya.
Tigers official are confident of a bumper crowd at Leichhardt, with the match to also be shown LIVE on Fox Sports.
Honda, who admitted he almost quit football following June’s World Cup before getting an offer from Victory, said he was excited about getting down to work with his new club.
“I want to train hard with the team from tomorrow. I want time to adjust to the team of course,” Honda said.
“I need to understand more about this club’s style. I want to study more day-by-day.
“I have to train well for the fans, teammates and everyone here. I look forward to playing as soon as possible.”
