An injury-free Bailey Wright has declared himself fit and ready to make an international comeback after landing in Canberra with the Socceroos on Monday.
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Wright and his Australian teammates blew out the travel cobwebs with a light session at Deakin before being mobbed by fans in the capital to start the week.
The Socceroos will play against Nepal at Canberra Stadium on Thursday night, with Wright hoping to win a defensive spot after missing the last game against Kuwait.
The Bristol City defender has seen limited game time over the past month after struggling with a quad problem.
"I'm ready, that's why I'm here," Wright said. "I'm itching to be back involved here and when [coach Graham Arnold] called I was delighted.
"I've been fit and ready to play for Bristol City. If I could pick the team I'd pick myself to play, but it's a tough team to get into.
"I'm fit and ready to go and looking forward to getting into these next two games."
Arnold has picked a 23-man squad to play World Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Taiwan, also recalling captain Mark Milligan after recovering form his injury struggles.
The Socceroos won their qualifying opener against Kuwait 3-0 before setting their sights on their first trip to Canberra in four years.
The hundreds of fans lining up for autographs and photos at training have given FFA officials confidence a strong crowd will watch the mid-week clash.
Wright played in the Socceroos' last game in Canberra in 2015 and is confident the new-look side can impress again.
"We'll do our homework [on Nepal] ... it's a quick turnaround but that's just the way international football goes," Wright said.
"We've got to get on the same page and be ready to go again. Everytime you get a chance to play for your country in a World Cup qualifier is great, everytime you're together as a team you get stronger.
"I enjoy the culture [Arnold] is building. We want success and you have to do everything you can to move towards that in a long campaign.
"By the sounds of it, it's going to be a big crowd. We need that support and I'm sure we'll get it."
Meanwhile, Apostolos Giannou was the first player to arrive in Canberra in the hope of forcing his way starting XI against Group B minnows Nepal.
It's a different situation to his arrival at the Socceroos Asian Cup camp in January when he was an 11th hour call-up before the tournament got underway.
"It's a big plus for me to get in quick and to try and sort out my body and the time change so we can be ready to do what we have to do on Thursday and the next game," Giannou said.
WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Thursday: Socceroos v Nepal at Canberra Stadium, 8pm