Matt O’Riley reckons he was lucky to escape a broken leg after Everton’s Isaac Price’s eye-watering challenge in Sydney. The Celtic ace was snapped during the shootout defeat to the Toffees as Ange Postecoglou’s men signed off from their tour Down Under.
O’Riley was just relieved to avoid serious injury but he admitted he was stunned Price didn’t even get a yellow card for the horror lunge. The Celt said: “I got lucky. I’m not even sure he got booked, I don’t think he did. It was on my knee. I got quite a big mark from it.
“I had a word with the referee. He was trying to explain it to me but I didn’t really understand. On another day I get my leg broken. I didn’t get a fright but at the same time when I watched it back I realised I got lucky. It was high, it was just above my shin.
"I think because it was only a friendly he didn’t want to give a red card. But, it’s a red card every other day.”
O’Riley enjoyed his week in Oz with Celtic but he admitted he was gutted to narrowly miss out on a place in Denmark’s World Cup squad. He said: “I was really disappointed.
"I spoke with the manager (Kasper Hjulmand) and I think I was close. I think it was just a tiny bit soon for me by the sound of it.
"He was saying that the lead up to this World Cup was quite a strange one. There weren’t a lot of training sessions before, so to integrate me would’ve been a bit difficult.
“So I kind of understood that. But then again hopefully there’s going to be more opportunities for me next year. So if I keep my form, keep improving then hopefully I’ll be involved. The fact I got so close in a relatively short period of time is a definite positive.”
O’Riley admitted he was devastated for Hoops teammates Kyogo and Reo Hatate to miss out on spots in the Japan squad. Attacker Jota was named in Portugal’s extended list of stars but didn’t make the plane for the Middle East.
He said: “I felt for them. Selfishly, it’s probably a good thing for us. They’re going to come back fresh for the league, they’re not going to get injured or anything.
“We were all a bit confused, though, they didn’t make it. I think a few boys were unlucky. Even Jota – I think he had a fair shout of going with Portugal.
“It’s a good thing that we were all close, it shows that we’re in a good position. And hopefully next year we can all be involved with our national teams.”
O’Riley admitted there is some silver lining in missing out on Qatar as the break will give players time to rest some weary limbs.
He said: “I know it will sound weird, but this rest will do me good too. I should be able to come back in a really good place. I’ve been lucky enough to stay fit so far for the season.
“I’ve played a lot of football. Just coming back fresh, I think that will really help me to kick on again. To improve my level even more would be really good.”
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