Australia manager Graham Arnold has given an update on Tom Rogic’s current AWOL situation – stating that he has given his star time to ‘be left alone’ before working on his situation with the Socceroos going forward.
Rogic left Celtic in the summer after nine superb years at Parkhead, and it was thought by many that the midfield star would not be short of options for clubs as he becomes a superb free transfer for many teams across the globe.
However, it was reported in June that the ‘Wizard of Oz’ had not been seen for a while by Arnold or any Australian FA officials – sparking concerns over his whereabouts and whether Rogic had packed football in for good in the long-run.
But in a recent interview, Arnold claimed that he had heard from Rogic with a simple one-word answer which confirmed he was okay – despite nobody still not knowing where he is.
“I get asked whether I’ve heard from him but you understand I have to leave him alone as well,” he said.
“I sent him one text quite a while ago to make sure that he was okay mentally and everything was fine and he replied ‘yes’ and that’s it.
“I’m here to give advice if that’s necessary but at the end of the day it’s up to Tommy and his agent to find what’s best for Tommy and then we as a national team work with him on that.”
Rogic had previously concerned Arnold after the Aussie boss – whose country recently qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar without the Hoops hero – made his disappearance public.
“I haven’t read anything, I haven’t seen anything… I texted him and didn’t get a reply. I am concerned about Tommy but I know the PFA are looking into it,” Arnold has said previously.
But current Australia boss Ange Postecoglou joked that Rogic was fine – and that his personality meant it would have been stranger had he actually replied, telling Arnold to ‘leave him alone.’
“I think Tom Rogic is fine. Has anyone spoken to him? No one spoke to him when he was here for ten years either. That’s Tom!” Ange said.
“I’d be actually more concerned if he was out there talking to people. Leave him alone, he’s fine.
“Tom will get his next move done and I’m sure he’s in a great place. I haven’t been in contact with him, but the people I know say that he’s got no problems.”
