After ten months of setbacks, Velupillay back with World Cup in mind
Nishan Velupillay missed out on a lot over the past ten months. But back playing for Melbourne Victory, he's eyeing a new path, one that starts at a Christmas Derby and could just end at a World Cup.
Between missing a grand final, the games that saw the Socceroos qualify for the World Cup, and the start of a new domestic campaign, it’s been a long and frustrating ten months for Nishan Velupillay. But finally back on the park and with Tony Popovic and his staff keeping a close eye on his progress, the Melbourne Victory attacker is chomping at the bit.
Waylaid with an ankle injury during Victory’s semifinal win over Auckland last season, Velupillay was unable to recover in time to feature in the following week’s grand final loss to Melbourne City and, needing surgery, was subsequently absent from the Socceroos side that downed Japan and Saudi Arabia to punch their tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Victory had hoped to welcome him back for the start of the 2025-26 campaign, but a hamstring malady picked up during a preseason friendly against Adelaide again forced him to the sidelines, preventing him from featuring in his side’s sputtering start to the season.
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Finally able to make his return as a late substitute in a 1-0 loss to Brisbane in round six, he further reminded observers what they’d been missing when he was brought on once more in a 0-0 draw with Macarthur and provided an instant infusion of attacking intent before then making his first start of the year in the 2-1 win over Adelaide last week.
“That’s the worst part about [being injured]; watching from the sidelines and seeing games where you can impact the game and you know you can change it,” he said. “So there were mixed emotions. I was delighted to watch Socceroos games knowing we’ve qualified -- those games were pretty special. But it’s part of football. And it’s been a learning experience for me, but I’m happy I’ve got through it.”
One of the main beneficiaries of Popovic, his former coach at Victory, being named national team boss, Velupillay made his first senior international appearance against China last October, pushing back on doubters by netting within minutes of his introduction and going on to net twice more in March qualifiers against Indonesia and China.
While much has changed since he was establishing himself as a fixture in green and gold, most notably in his position with the return of Connor Metcalfe from injury and the re-emergence of Nestory Irankunda as a regular international, Socceroo staff have continued to monitor and communicate with Velupillay throughout his time on the sideline.
And with five months until the final 26-player squad is named for the World Cup, the former Glen Eira junior has plenty of time to press his case for an elusive spot in the side that will take on the United States, Paraguay, and a European opponent.
“I think first of all, it’s probably the minutes I need to play – get that back up,” he said on getting back in the Socceroos. “Obviously, I missed a lot of football.
“But [Socceroo staff] have been in constant communication with me, seeing how I am physically. I think it’s just more like, now the building blocks are in place, now I can see what else I can add to my game.
“But now that I’ve got a couple of games in my belt, it’s more just improving my match fitness for now.
“It’s always nice to know that you’re important to them and still at the front of their mind. I think that’s always good for a player.
“The confidence for me [came] from, while I was there, I could score and could impact the game. I just hope I can do that here at Victory, and then hopefully, again, in the Socceroos.”
His coach Arthur Diles, for his part, has no doubt the attacker has what it takes to force his way back into the Socceroos.
“In the coming weeks, I think we’ll see him back at his best,” said Diles. “And I don’t even think we’ve seen his best yet. I think last year was pretty much scraping the surface of Nish and what he can do, and he just gave us a glimpse.
“I’m really looking forward to Nish, over the next six months, doing everything he can to make our club successful, first and foremost, and doing everything he can to be on the plane to go to a World Cup.”
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A childhood Victory fan, Velupillay’s next opportunity to build will come in Saturday’s traditional Yuletide Derby, in which Victory will look to build on the momentum of last week’s pressure-releasing win over the Reds and source some level of revenge for their 2-0 defeat at the hands of City earlier this season.
“I think it gives me [more], I always like playing in the big games,” said the attacker. “I feel I do pretty well, as well, in those big games. So I’m excited for this one, and I think it’ll be a good occasion. And a good test for us.
“The Adelaide game was good. Obviously, we could be better. But in terms of breaking that momentum of a couple of games without a win, it was a good performance. But we know that City’s going to be another level, and we can kind of make our mark.
“These Christmas ones are always so it’s pretty entertaining. We’ve had a couple of really good derbies over the last couple of years. They’re the games I look forward to. And hopefully, we can get a lot of fans down.”