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Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is confident Alex Robertson will remain loyal to Australia after being left out of the latest World Cup qualification squad.
Graham Arnold remains in conversation with Alex Robertson after his World Cup qualification omission and is confident the midfielder will commit to the Socceroos.
The 21-year-old was one of the notable omissions from 24-man squad Arnold announced on Friday for games against Bahrain, on the Gold Coast next Thursday, and Indonesia in Jakarta just five days later.
Robertson, also eligible for Scotland, Peru and England, was part of Arnold's squads last year, enjoying minutes in friendlies against Argentina and China and Ecuador in Sydney.
A FIFA rule change in 2020 allows players to switch allegiance if they have played no more than three competitive matches at senior level prior to them turning 21.
The Manchester City-signed midfielder was left out of this year's Asian Cup squad in the hope he would be cleared to feature in the Olyroos' Olympic qualification campaign.
That didn't happen though and then he suffered a serious hamstring tear that required surgery, Robertson saying it "looked like a bomb had gone off" when his leg was opened up.
The talent has since landed a permanent move to Cardiff City and opened his goal account with a superb volley earlier this week.
The player deleted all Socceroos-related content on his Instagram account earlier this year, but Arnold said he's been in constant conversation with Robertson and was confident his loyalty remained with Australia.
"He's coming back from a very heavy injury, hadn't played a game since January, at Cardiff now and he's started playing, getting some game time and settled into the club and getting match fit," he said.
"Yeah I'd be disappointed if he doesn't (want to play for Australia).
"We've had him in other camps and he's had a bit of game time, come off the bench, played against Argentina in China.
"I'd be be disappointed if he wasn't lining himself up to play for Australia."