New dad Massimo Murdocca has not only had to juggle his newfound family life with football but has had to contend with both Hyundai A-League and AFC Champions League commitments.
New dad Massimo Murdocca has not only had to juggle his newfound family life with football but has had to contend with both Hyundai A-League and AFC Champions League commitments.
While he admits he-s still learning on all fronts, Murdocca wouldn-t have it any other way.
The 27-year-old and wife Michelle welcomed their daughter Alessandra Catherine Murdocca late on 24 February, just hours before he flew across the country to play Perth Glory the following evening.
Ten days later, a rough tackle in the AFC Champions League opener against FC Tokyo saw Murdocca succumb to a shoulder injury, ruling him out of Sunday-s 1-1 draw against Adelaide United, but he looks set to return on Saturday against Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.
“I-m a big chance to travel, whether I start or not is a different question,” he said.
“That-s up to Ange.”
Teammate Thomas Broich suffered a similar injury a few weeks ago and Murdocca said he has turned to the German playmaker on advice for his recovery.
“The shoulder – I-m comparing it to the way Thomas was,” he said.
“But I-ve shown some positive signs compared to Thomas so it-s looking very good at the moment.”
“I-ve actually learnt a different respect for him because it-s such a terrible injury.
“It-s so painful every day. It-s not a leg injury where you can rest it, it-s a shoulder which you use it every day for your everyday life whether it-s cooking or washing.
“That-s probably slowed down the healing process a bit and that-s what-s made it a real tough injury for me.”
The healing to Murdocca-s shoulder not only allows him to return to the action on the field but also to dad duties – an art he confesses he-s still trying to master.
“I couldn-t hold her when I was injured, which was heartbreaking for me,” he said.
“It was really tough but this week I-m starting to do all the work again, Mich has dumped it all onto me which has been great.
“I-m still trying to master it, still progressing and still trying to mature a bit really, to be honest.
“It was a great experience having a baby and now trying to bring her up is even better.”
If Murdocca, as well as fellow injured midfielder Mitch Nichols, get through tomorrow morning-s training session without any problems, both will be on the plane to Newcastle in the afternoon and will travel to China on Sunday morning.
Brisbane take on Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan on Tuesday night in match day two of the AFC Champions League with Murdocca doing his best to manage the hectic schedule he-s in the midst of.
“It-s hurting my brain a little bit at the moment, to be honest,” he joked.
“It-s a lot to take in and that-s what it-s all about – trying to juggle it and trying to find the right formula to make sure you-re at your peak day in day out.
“It-s getting to that point where you have a game and you don-t really have time to look back on that because the next game has come up and I think that-s been the toughest thing for us.
“I think not being able to learn from mistakes in the previous game and having to move on so quickly, that-s been a big test for us.
“That-s been a big learning experience for me and the whole team.”
