Blues centre-half Cameron Burgess says fellow Australian Massimo Luongo fully deserves his recall to the Socceroos squad.

Burgess and Luongo are set to join up with their international squad ahead of friendlies against England at Wembley on Friday 13th October, then New Zealand at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium four days later.

Luongo is in the party after a four-year absence, the result of the 31-year-old’s excellent form since he joined the Blues in January, the pair having met manager Graham Arnold at the team hotel prior to the match at QPR in August.

“His return is really well deserved - he’s delighted and can’t wait to get into camp,” Burgess, who won his first full Socceroos cap last month, told FTBL.

“I’m buzzing for him and when he called me to let me know I had a massive smile on my face.

“He’s been one of our most consistent players ever since he arrived in January and really added something to the team.

“I think age was maybe a little bit in his thinking in terms of getting a recall but when we met up with Graham Arnold the first thing he said was that Mass’s experience would be vital if he got back into the squad.

“Mass is super fit and players these days play for much longer than maybe they did previously.

“At 31 he’s probably playing some of the best football of his career. I don’t think age is a significant factor in this at all for him.

“Playing behind him I see he has a lot of strings to his bow and is capable of playing different roles and making his presence count whenever he steps onto the pitch.

“He’s a huge part of why the team’s doing so well at the moment. He can pop up on all sorts of places, depending on what’s happening in each game and what’s required in different situations. He’s in a good place at the moment and I’m delighted for him.”

Regarding his debut, a 2-2 draw with Mexico in the US, he added: “It was a really special moment for me personally. We were actually disappointed not to come away with a win [having led 2-0] and I think the fact that we weren’t happy tells you how far we’ve come as a team and the culture we’ve built.

“I feel lucky to now be a part things and the prospect of playing at Wembley now is going to be a pretty special occasion for all of us.”

Photo: Matchday Images

itfcserbia added 11:03 - Oct 8 Absolutely long overdue. Massive player. Funnily I felt like Preston was Luongo's worst game since he joined Town. Not that he was bad on the day but definitely below his usual standards. It was obvious how more rested Morsy was due to his ban. Two sides to every medal. Can't wait for international break to be over already.
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Linkboy13 added 11:54 - Oct 8 Both Luongo and Morsy were not up to their incredibly high standards yesterday just good. Went to Huddersfield and saw why Sam is the most vital player at the club. Cannot afford to be without him for any long spell if we are going to stay in the hunt for promotion.
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ArnieM added 13:27 - Oct 8 I think Burgess is improving all the time . He had a role in the 3rd goal with his header in the box. Our defenders over recent years rarely get on the end of balls in our opponents box. Good to see
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MK1 added 17:26 - Oct 8 Amazing they could do without him for this long. In superb form for us and sure they will see the improvement in him. Fantastic to have so many players getting the recognition they deserve.
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terryf added 18:05 - Oct 8 Luongo and Morsy have been the main reason we have done so well over the past 10 months but watching Morsy's performance against Hull just confirmed how important he is to the Team. He was constantly available to receive the ball all over the park. We have so much energy throughout the Team and as good as we are offensively we are equally as good out of possession.
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