Oskar Zawada Photo: Marty Melville / www.photosport.nz
Wellington Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada is on the plane to Australia but how much game time he'll get against the Newcastle Jets will be determined by how Saturday's game plays out.
Zawada has been sidelined for more than a month with a thigh injury picked up the last time the Phoenix played the Jets on 9 December.
Coach Giancarlo Italiano is waiting to see how Zawada travels from Wellington to New South Wales before deciding on whether he's involved against the Jets but said he was "highly likely" for the next game against the Brisbane Roar.
"He's been given the all clear for an involvement but for me it's more about making sure that we expose him to the environment and see how he handles it and if we feel comfortable that he can contribute we'll play him," Italiano said.
"He gives us an option off the bench, a different dynamic to the way we play but I'll use him according to how the game pans out."
A week after Zawada was sidelined Kosta Barbarouses stepped into the void when he found his goal-scoring form.
Barbarouses is the team's leading goal scorer having netted eight goals this season - all while Zawada has been out.
Italiano said Zawada and Barbarouses had worked well together when they had both been on the field this season and he wasn't worried that Zawada's return would limit Barbarouses' effectiveness.
"I think Kosta complements him well I'll try to, if I do bring [Zawada] on, make sure that I still play to Kosta's strengths."
The last time the Phoenix played the Jets they lost 3-0 and Italiano said his close relationship with Jets coach and former mentor Rob Stanton meant some changes were needed each time the two sides met.
"We've always had a tactical mind shift whenever we play each other because we know each other very very well ... there will be a different emphasis on the way we attack and defensively I think we can nullify a lot of their threats."
