Hearts were defending a corner when the 23-year-old suddenly reached for his left foot in agony,despite no collision or contact with an opponent. They conceded from the resulting set-piece and while Atkinson came back on,he was subbed out of the match a short time later.
Fiorentina eventually won 5-1,but Socceroos coach Graham Arnold and his medical staff will be sweating on the outcome of forthcoming scans on Atkinson,who is likely to be Australia’s starting right-back in Qatar.
Arnold has to submit a 55-man longlist of players to FIFA on Tuesday,from which his final 26-man squad for the World Cup - which Arnold intends to reveal on November 8 - must be selected.
Atkinson expressed hope — after scoring a screamer for Hearts at the weekend,which came in the fourth minute of injury time and salvaged them a point against Kilmarnock — that he could seal his spot in Qatar in the coming weeks,admitting his recent form was not “up to standard”.
“I got brought here for a reason and the start of the season just hasn’t been good enough from me,” he told Scottish media. “It’s probably affected me off the pitch more than anything but I’ve been having long chats with the assistant coaches and they’ve been getting me in a positive mindset. But today that confidence came back and it’s just about starting games early and with confidence,and with the World Cup coming up it’s just that extra bit of motivation.”
While Atkinson now faces a race against time to be fit for Australia’s first Group D match against France on November 22 (November 23 AEDT),there is better news for Arnold at the back with his preferred central defenders nearing returns to full fitness.