Clayton Lewis relieved to be back from injury for Wellington Phoenix's title push

Where: Aami Park, Melbourne; When: Saturday, 9.45pm [NZ time]

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Clayton Lewis feared the worst in the days after he suffered an ankle injury at the end of March.

The initial diagnosis was that he might require surgery and would be out for 12 weeks.

That would have drawn a line under his second season at the Wellington Phoenix.

And it would have ruled him out of the All Whites’ World Cup playoff against Costa Rica in June.

Thankfully, once the swelling went down, he was able to get an MRI scan and a brighter outlook.

On Monday, six weeks and three days after he left the field against Perth Glory, he returned to action against Melbourne City.

In the intervening period, the Phoenix defied the odds to make the A-League Men finals series, finishing sixth to set up an elimination final against third-placed Western United in Melbourne on Saturday night.

With his injury coming hot on the heels of captain Alex Rufer’s season-ending knee one, the Phoenix were dealt a double whammy in midfield.

But having one of their first-choice duo back for their tilt at a first-ever A-League title will come as a massive boost.

Lewis said on Wednesday that being given the chance to play again this season for club and country had come as a massive relief.

“Straight away, as soon as the injury happened, I was pretty frustrated and gutted. Everything bad that could happen kind of did happen.

“If I was to miss that All Whites playoff, I think it would be tough for me to try to put my name up again for Danny [Hay, the national team coach] for the World Cup.

“It's something I can now look back on and feel a big sense of relief about – that I can be back for that and hopefully get the fitness in before that time comes.”

Lewis’ value to the Phoenix was clear to see in the second half of their 2-1 loss to City. He gave them a presence in midfield they’d been lacking during their nine previous games, where Sam Sutton, Gael Sandoval, and Jackson Manuel had all taken turns filling in alongside Nicholas Pennington.

Having him available will give coach Ufuk Talay tactical flexibility as the Phoenix look to extend their unbeaten run against Western United in all competitions to nine matches and he’s looking forward to his first taste of A-League finals football.

"It's obviously a little bit different,” Lewis said.

“We can't afford to lose, but at the same time, we've got a good bunch of lads here that know what it takes to win.

“Whenever we've gone up, we've not lost. The longer we can stay in the game the better and going into this game, we're going to be at it. The way Uffie is going to set us up is going be good. We're buzzing.”

The Phoenix have only lost once to Western United – in their first meeting at the start of the 2019-20 season – and have won all three meetings this season – 2-1 and 4-1 in the league and 1-0 in the Australia Cup.

A win on Saturday would be their first in a finals match since 2012, as they were eliminated at the first time of asking in 2015, 2019, and 2020.

It would set them up for a home-and-away semifinal against Melbourne City, who took out top spot and the Premiers Plate with their win on Monday.

Lewis’ injury kept him out of the Phoenix’s only two appearances on New Zealand soil this season and he said he would love to have the chance to play in Wellington next Wednesday.

“Hopefully we can get the job done on Saturday and then be back next week.”