He refers to himself as a "dinosaur" these days but Jason Davidson is jumping at the chance to prove his international career is not extinct.
The 33-year-old fullback was a surprise inclusion in the Socceroos squad unveiled by Tony Popovic last week, with Jordy Bos's hamstring injury opening the door for Davidson's unlikely recall.
After leaving Melbourne Victory in 2022, Davidson has spent time in Belgium with Eupen and is currently at Greek Super League side Panserraikos.
But appearances in a Socceroos jersey have been harder to come by.
The defender hasn't been sighted in Australian colours since a friendly against Jordan in 2022, while his most recent competitive game for the Socceroos was in a World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh way back in 2015.
"A couple of weeks ago I got a text to say I was on the monitoring list and that ignited some ambition," Davidson said.
"Even before the game in 2022 there was a seven-year gap, so that one I didn't expect either off the back of a good season at Victory.
"I got that (hamstring) injury in the game before the (World Cup) qualifier and I was a bit disappointed I didn't make any squads after that because I was playing regularly in Belgium.
"When the boss got the opportunity, I thought, 'OK, I've worked under him, but who knows'.
"I never really thought about it much more than that, I just tried to focus on myself at club level like I always have.
"To get that call-up text was a proud moment for me, I'm happy to be back."
Davidson gives Popovic's squad a battle-hardened edge at the back when so many experienced players were not selected due to injury or form.
The fullback's absence from the Australia squad has meant that he has only played with a handful of players - such as Maty Ryan, Jackson Irvine and Adam Taggart - in previous Socceroos matches.
"We were reminiscing at dinner, talking about some old stories and how we're getting older now," said Davidson, who was part of Australia's 2015 Asian Cup success.
"Maybe we're the dinosaurs in this changing room because there's a lot of young faces.
"You can see the next generation of boys coming through."
