Popovic says the former Mainz and Hertha Berlin attacker is a ‘great addition’ to the Wanderers.
Western Sydney Wanderers boss Tony Popovic says he is excited by the arrival of new signing Nikita Rukavytsya, but says the club will take a cautious approach with the attacker.
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Popovic is unsure of the Austalia international’s fitness having not played a single minute of football this season, but says he is a “great addition” regardless.
“He’s an Australian international, been in Germany for a while now but needs a fresh start,” he told AAP.
“He will be a great addition to our squad and we hope we can get him to enjoy his football again.
“We’ll assess him when he arrives – he’s done some form of pre-season. I am just not sure how much of it was with the first team.”
An understrength Wanderers side were destroyed 4-1 in the A-League opener on Friday, but Popovic says there is no need for panic.
“Last week wasn’t a good result for us but we’ll learn from it and will be a lot better this week,” Popovic said.
“We’ve taken a lot out of the game; we’re not dwelling on it any more.
“We’ve analysed the game, know what we need to do and now just focusing on Sydney.
“I don’t think the game was a reality check at all … we lost a game of football … we know what we have to do.”
The Wanderers take on rivals Sydney FC on Saturday night in front of more than 40,000 fans at Allianz Stadium.