Austin to miss E-League Melbourne derby for another Victory commitment

Mitch Austin is set to miss the E-League Melbourne derby due to another Melbourne Victory commitment.

The 26-year-old has a double training session on Thursday ahead of the Hyundai A-League Melbourne derby on Friday night, which means he won’t join teammate Mouad Zwed to face Melbourne City’s Marcus Gomes and Josh Wooding in the E-League on Thursday night.

Austin’s omission leaves Victory in a precarious position with City on a high after pulling off a miraculous comeback win against Perth Glory in Round 2.

However, Victory training is Austin’s priority as he continues to recover from an ACL injury.

“My rehab and training have to come first, as much as I’m gutted not to be playing in it [the E-League Melbourne derby],” Austin told A-League.com.au.

“I started back running now so I’m doing double sessions and with the Hyundai A-League Melbourne derby on Friday, I’m in early the next morning so the E-League’s not possible for me this week.”

He added: “But back to normal next week.”

With Austin sitting out Victory’s Round 3 E-League clash, Zwed will have to play both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 legs against City.

But the injured winger believes his teammate can still record a result.

“We both play on PlayStation 4 at home so it’s much harder getting used to playing on Xbox,” said Austin.

He continued: “But hopefully he can pull an upset out. If anyone can do it, it’s him.”

Watch the E-League Melbourne derby on the E-League Australia Twitch channel and Fox Sports Digital from 8pm AEDT on Thursday night.