Huddersfield Town defender Jason Davidson is back in the Australia squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh.
The Socceroos will be aiming to bounce back from their first defeat on the road to Russia, 2-0 in Jordan, who took over at the top of the Asian Confederation Group B.
Left-back Davidson, who joined Town this summer after leaving West Bromwich Albion, won his 21st cap in that match.
Australia face Kyrgyzstan at Canberra’s Gio Stadium on Thursday, November 12 and Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday 17.
Davidson, who has made 13 Town appearances, will join up with Ange Postecoglou’s squad after the home derby against Leeds United on Saturday, November 7.
He will be back in time for the next game, away to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 21.
Only the eight group winners are guaranteed entry to the third stage of Asian Confederation qualifying (two groups of six).
Winning the group would mean avoiding the need to be one of the four best runners-up.
Second-placed Australia, who have played four of their eight initial qualifiers, are four points behind Jordan with a game in hand.
Postecoglou has been boosted by the availability of captain Mile Jedinak, of Crystal Palace, and Valencia goalkeeper Mat Ryan.
Neither have been able to play for the Socceroos since the opening qualifier in June and their return gives coach Ange Postecoglou added firepower.
“While the performance and result in Jordan were not what we hoped for, we are still in a good position to progress to the next round of qualifiers,” said Postecoglou.
The squad also includes Bradford City defender James Meredith.
