Injury not the end of the world

Injured footballer Daniel Bowles is on the mend.

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TOOWOOMBA football talent Daniel Bowles would have made his A-League starting debut by now had it not been for injury, but he is not letting the setback keep him down.

Bowles was in line to make his first start for Gold Coast in Monday night's 4-0 loss to Perth Glory but an ankle complaint picked up at training on Saturday kept him out of the squad.

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A head knock at training last Friday also required four staples, so Bowles would have started his first A-League game sporting a fashionable head bandage.

But with his ankle improving, Bowles said he was aiming to be available for Sunday's home match against Adelaide.

A swift return would be timely, with comments from Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg earlier in the week suggesting the former Toowoomba junior is in line for a spot in the starting side.

"I've been training well and I'm getting some good feedback, so hopefully if I keep working a start is just around the corner," Bowles said.

Bleiberg also said he would elevate Bowles, who has made four appearances off the bench in the A-League this season, to his 23-man senior squad next season.

Those comments were news to Bowles when he spoke to The Chronicle yesterday after returning from Perth.

But he welcomed the positive development.

"Hopefully I'm fighting for a contract for next season and any feedback like that is great," Bowles said.

Monday's result has Gold Coast languishing at the bottom of the table, five points behind ninth-placed Adelaide, the team that it plays on Sunday.