Socceroos' homecoming dampened by injury to star defender Harry Souttar

                 

Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold says he is "devastated" for injured defender Harry Souttar, who will miss Australia's crucial World Cup qualifying clash with China next week due to injury.

The Stoke defender will head for scans on Friday after picking up a suspected knee injury during Australia's underwhelming 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia on a wet, miserable Thursday at Western Sydney Stadium in Parramatta.

Souttar was taken off on a stretcher late in the game after tracking back to cover a Saudi break-away attack.

He turned and fell to the ground without being touched by another player, clutching at the back of his knee in agony before being tended to by medical staff.

Arnold refused to confirm the nature of the injury, but Souttar will be badly missed when Australia head to the UAE to take on the Chinese next week.

"It's very serious. It is probably too early for me to say what it is," Arnold said.

"He's in quite a lot of pain and he's getting scans on Friday morning, but I don't think he'll be coming to the UAE for the China game.

"I'm really down and devastated for Harry.

"He's such a great kid. I believe he's the best centre-back in Asia.

"If it turns out to be a bad injury, it's not only a blow for Harry, then it's a blow for us."

The setback would be significant not just for the Socceroos, but also for Souttar's domestic club, Stoke, who are chasing promotion in the English Championship.

Indeed, it could potentially put the brakes on Souttar's career, with rumours swirling the 1.9 metre centre-half was on the radar of some Premier League clubs.

As a glimpse into Arnold's thinking ahead of the game against China, defender Milos Degenek was deployed at the back after Souttar went off.

Australia seemed to lose focus after Souttar's departure and became increasingly reliant on goalkeeper Mat Ryan's quick reflexes to keep the Saudis at bay, despite the Aussies dominating for most of the game.

They also missed Souttar's goalscoring ability from set pieces, having scored six times in his past eight appearances for the Socceroos.

"It got the boys down a bit and they see such a good guy going off on a stretcher," Arnold added. 

"It probably, mentally, had a bit of an effect on them. After that we were a bit sloppy.

"It was two teams working hard and we both walked away with a point."

Australia will take on China at 2am AEDT on Wednesday November 17 at Sharjah Stadium in the UAE.

The Chinese football federation moved the match from home soil earlier this month due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.