“The Chinese government’s rules and regulations are that he had to do 14 days quarantine, and then after 14 days quarantine it’s 14 days self-isolation, which (went) days into our camp.
“I’ve had conversations with Aaron. He’s devastated that he can’t be here but he’s contractual situation in China with the salary he’s getting paid has made him go back.”
Mooy joined the CSL side, then known as Shanghai SIPG, from English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion last August. He has played five games for them this season.
The former Huddersfield Town midfelder played in Australia’s last Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 qualfying matches, including coming off the bench when the Socceroos beat China 3-0 in the group opener in September.
He also came on as a substitute in the wins over Vietnam and Oman, as well as starting last month’s defeat to Japan, which left the Socceroos with three wins from four games and on course for one of the two automatic qualification spots for Qatar 2022 for the top two teams in the group.
Australia, who sit second in the group behind the 100 per cent record Saudis, are also missing Celtic midfielder and Cerezo Osaka striker Adam Taggart for their first home game since 2019 and subsequent trip to the UAE.
China’s squad is also missing players ahead of their make or break games against Oman and Australia as head coach Li Tie lost six of his stars before heading to Sharjah, where China’s “home” game has been relocated amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in the mainland in recent weeks.
Guo Tianyu, Wei Shihao, Wang Shangyuan and Yin Hongbo left the 32-man squad for “family reasons” while Gao Zhunyi has pulled out with an injury.
China have won just one of their four games so far as they look to end a 20-year wait for a second appearance at the Fifa World Cup Finals. They beat Vietnam in between defeats to Japan, Saudi Arabia and the opening loss to the Socceroos.
Their only realistic hope of qualification is to finish in third place and face the third-place finishers from group A, with the winner of that match moving on to an intercontinental play-off for a place in Qatar.
The Chinese Super League has been on pause since August while the national team looks to qualify for a second Fifa World Cup appearance. It has been reported that the CSL will resume in mid-December and conclude within a month.
Mooy’s teammates most recently beat city rivals Shanghai Shenhua in the first leg of the Chinese FA Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Former Chelsea midfielder had four assists in a 5-1 victory but was then sent off in the dying minutes and will miss Sunday’s second leg.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Mooy set to miss China clash as club calls him back
Source link : https://amp.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3155097/qatar-2022-australias-aaron-mooy-miss-china-match-shanghai-port-call
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Publish date : 2021-11-06 03:00:00
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