23 Jul 2012

Injury worries ease for Football Ferns and Oly Whites

7:11 am on 23 July 2012

The New Zealand men's and women's Olympic football teams are set to welcome back some key players from injuries, as they get closer to their respective opening games this week in Britain.

The Football Ferns open the Olympics against Great Britain in Cardiff early Thursday New Zealand time, and the under-23 men take on Belarus on Friday morning in Coventry.

Ferns fullback Ali Riley has returned to training after suffering a leg injury against Canada a week ago and is expected to be fit to play the Olympic hosts in three days, while Oly Whites goalkeeper Jake Gleeson is also expected to be available for selection against the Belarusians as he makes a graduated return to training after injuring his groin against the Korea Republic last week.

Adam McGeorge and Tim Myers have both returned to full training after each missing two of the three warmup games the New Zealand men played, and training numbers have been further boosted with the arrival of stand-by goalkeeper Scott Basalaj.

The Football Ferns take on Great Britain at 1am on Thursday with the men squaring off against Belarus at 6.45am on Friday.