Glamour recruits Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton will be available for the opening round of the football A-League after Socceroos coach Holger Osieck overlooked the pair in his 19-man squad for the October internationals.
Melbourne Victory star Kewell and Sydney FC purchase Emerton can now line up for their respective sides in the October 8 blockbuster in Melbourne, as they won't be required for the October 7 friendly against Malaysia and the World Cup qualifier against Oman four days later.
While Osieck says he had taken the sting out of the situation by not selecting Kewell and Emerton, who both have English premiership experience, he made it clear they would have been available if required.
The A-League clubs would have been obliged to release the players as the October games were part of the official FIFA calendar.
The German-born coach stressed neither man had played much recently and he wanted to take the pressure off both and give them time to adjust to their new situations.
