Swiss international Pirmin Schwegler is set to return for Western Sydney Wanderers despite being off contract and back in his homeland as his teammates return to training. Doubts lingered whether Western Sydney's key midfielder would return for the remainder of the A-League season have been quashed on Thursday after the club confirmed Schwegler is set to arrive in a fortnight, despite his contract expiring on May 31.
The former Bundesliga player will return to Australia and undergo 14-days of quarantine in isolation to finish the A-League season on a severely reduced salary, despite having no obligation to do so. Wanderers' coach Jean-Paul de Marigny says Pirmin indicated his plan to return to Sydney in early July, giving him just enough time to complete his quarantine before the Wanderers' first game back.
Due back: Wanderers midfielder Pirmin Schwegler is set to return to Australia. Credit:James Alcock
While his return is a huge boost for the Wanderers' hopes of reaching the finals, the timing of Schwegler's arrival casts doubt over his condition for the club's final five games. Due to the mandatory 14-day isolation period, Schwegler will have little preparation with his teammates before games resume.
"Pirmin will probably arrive a little bit later, early July. He has to solve a couple of personal situations. Once that is done, he will be on the plane," de Marigny said. "He is committed, he wants to finish the season with his teammates, the staff and the club and it's a credit to him. He is a top pro and a great person.
"There was no convincing at all, he's the one who has made the decision, he is really comfortable with that. I spoke to him yesterday, for him it's all about coming back if he can actually do this, coming back to finish the season with the group."
Pirmin's likely return means the Wanderers will have the full availability of their five foreigners with Irish international striker Simon Cox in transit back to Australia while defender Dylan McGowan is in isolation after returning from Scotland. German midfielder Nicolai Muller remained in Australia, so too Swiss goalkeeper Daniel Lopar and German defender Patrick Ziegler.
Meanwhile, de Marigny says he did not held any talks with the club about the future of his position during the break of games. He has been the interim coach since the sacking of Markus Babbel in January and says discussions about his future will be put on hold until the 2019/20 season is completed.
"Where the club and I stand hasn't changed," de Marigny said. "It's about finishing the season, once we finish the season we will sit down, discuss it and decide which way we go with it."
Dominic Bossi is a football reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.