Hibs' Aussie trio will be ready to face Dundee despite long haul

Mark Milligan, Jamie Maclaren and Martin Boyle are braced for a testing build-up to Hibs' next match against Dundee, with plans in place to help them overcome the effects of jet-lag following their exertions with Australia.
Mark Milligan says travelling to Australia and back won't be an issueMark Milligan says travelling to Australia and back won't be an issue
Mark Milligan says travelling to Australia and back won't be an issue

The Easter Road trio are currently with the Socceroos squad as they prepare for a friendly double-header against South Korea in Brisbane on Saturday and against Lebanon in Sydney next Tuesday.

Milligan, Maclaren and Boyle will fly back to Edinburgh after the second match but aren’t due to arrive in the Capital until Thursday. This scenario presents obvious difficulties ahead of Hibs’ game against Dundee at Easter Road just 48 hours later, but Milligan insists they will do everything possible to ensure they are in peak condition.

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“It’s something I’ve been doing all my career,” the veteran midfielder told the Evening News. “Even when I was in Australia, we used to play friendlies or other games in Europe, travel back, sometimes get in Friday morning and then play for my club Friday night or Saturday.

“You’ve just got to make sure you get as much rest as possible and stay hydrated and give yourself a good chance. It’s not something you get used to but you adapt and learn how to manage it and get by with it to some degree.

“We’ve already spoken at Hibs about what the plan is recovery-wise, when we’re to train and things like that. I think we’re due back early Thursday morning so we’ll have a good recovery day on Thursday and hopefully train on Friday as normal. If you stay on top of it, it’s not too much of an issue. It’s something new for Boyley to get used to but he’s young so he should be fine with it.”

The games are Australia’s final warm-ups before they compete in the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates in January. “It’s our last camp and our last bit of preparation before the Asian Cup so it’s two important games for us,” said Milligan.