Shane Smeltz knows time is against him if he's to be fit for the All Whites' FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this year. Photo / Getty Images.
Timing is everything for a striker and Shane Smeltz is now in a race against time to fit for the All Whites' high-stakes World Cup playoff in November.
The 31-year-old has had surgery on a long-term hip injury and hopes to be back playing towards the end of October. The
All Whites take on the fourth-best nation from North and Central America for a spot at next year's World Cup in Brazil, with the return leg in Wellington on November 20.
The All Whites' opponents have yet to be found, although Honduras and Panama are looming as possibilities, with the first game on November 15. Perth open their A-League season on October 13.
"No matter what, I needed to go in and get it done otherwise I would have just been battling through so that was the major part of the decision and then, obviously, looking at the season and then the All Whites,'' Smeltz said. "At this stage I'll probably miss the first few couple of games of the A-League season.
"[You] can do as much training as you like but, until you play games, you're not match fit. Normally you'd expect to play three or four games to get in the groove again, really. Your first one or two may be a little bit rusty.''
