Socceroos manager Graham Arnold believes his squad are in great shape despite some key players being benched in their most recent club matches.
Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic, Brighton's Aaron Mooy, Freiburg forward Brandon Borrello, Red Star defender Milos Degenek and Basaksehir left-back Aziz Behich all missed their last club outings but were called up for Australia's World Cup qualifier against Jordan.
The recent omissions of those players have raised some eyebrows but Arnold has no concerns about player fitness going into the match in Amman on Thursday (Friday 3am AEDT).
He says his team selections take into account match minutes over a full month and depth in positions, rather than game time in the fortnight leading up to international fixtures.
"At this stage a lot of the selection is based around obviously the match minutes that they play at their clubs but also the position they play," Arnold told AAP.
"So if we've got depth in that position then there's a chance that they're not going to probably be selected.
"Tommy Rogic is back in form, he played a full 90 minutes last Sunday, he didn't play against Lazio, he didn't play (Sunday), he's played good minutes over the last month."
Arnold said that in a lot of cases having his players benched by their clubs was a boost as it served to rest them before crucial games.
"Absolutely, I look at Tommy Rogic playing last Sunday, he's in great shape," he said.
"Aaron Mooy has played in the reserve grade level at Brighton, and Milos Degenek, he's not played that much football, and he didn't play on Sunday.
"So they're actually coming in here fresher, so I'll expect they'll be fresh, they'll really have a lot of energy, they'll bring a lot of energy into camp."
Winger Mathew Leckie will miss the qualifier after he and his wife welcomed their new son into the world on Monday night, but Arnold was unconcerned.
"It's great for his family," Arnold said.
"The timing is something else, but we just want his family to be happy and healthy. That's the most important thing."
The only other change in Arnold's original squad selection was the call-up of in-form Western Sydney Wanderers striker Mitchell Duke to replace AEK Larnaca forward Apostolos Giannou, who pulled his hamstring.
Arnold's Socceroos top Group B with three wins from as many qualifiers but will face their toughest test against the Jordanians, who are second.
Australian Associated Press
