Daniel Arzani's hopes of earning a Socceroos recall this year have taken another massive hit after he was ruled out of the rest of the A-League Men season with an ankle injury.
The Macarthur attacker suffered a syndesmosis injury while playing a friendly for the Bulls during the international break over the weekend.
The setback is a huge blow to the 24-year-old, who had been in and out of the Macarthur XI all season following four fruitless seasons in Europe.
Arzani was hailed as a future superstar in 2018 when the then-teen sensation featured for Australia at the World Cup in Russia and was signed by EPL giants Manchester City.
But things didn't work out as planned in Europe, with Arzani tearing his ACL in his first senior appearance at Celtic after being loaned out to the Scottish powerhouse.
Arzani was loaned out to various other clubs with limited success after his recuperation, and he hoped a return to Australia via Macarthur would give his career a boost.
His lacklustre form resulted in him missing last year's World Cup, and he faces an uphill battle to win back his spot ahead of next year's Asian Cup.
The Socceroos hope to play two games at home in the June window, and there could be another match in September before taking on England at Wembley in October.
Macarthur sit in ninth spot - two points adrift of sixth-placed Sydney - ahead of Saturday night's clash with Perth Glory at Macedonia Park.
