The opportunity to wrap up the A-League premiership will drive emerging Sydney FC defender Joel King when the competition resumes next month.
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The Sky Blues needed just two more wins to secure the Premiers Plate when the season was suspended due to coronavirus in March.
The shutdown came in the midst of a breakout season for the Shellharbour talent, the 19-year-old playing 18 games after making his debut the previous summer.
The return from injury of Socceroo Michael Zullo, however, puts King's place in the starting lineup in jeopardy.
With that in mind, the youngster has spent the past two months training hard to ensure he hits the ground running when the A-League returns in July.
"It is exciting to get the news that we're coming back," King said. "It's been a while and we weren't sure we would come back.
"With Zullo coming back, it may be hard for me to get some game time, but I'm hoping to get a few more games under my belt.
"The team goal is to clinch the premiership, then go into finals and hopefully we can win that too."
Football Federation Australia's plans to restart the A-League have been mired in controversy in recent months, with a number of hurdles preventing the organisation from settling on a final plan.
Some certainty finally arrived last week, with FFA chief executive James Johnson confirming teams will return to training in mid-June before a mid-July kickoff. The competition will conclude by the end of August.
The announcement came just hours before the NRL relaunched their season.
Having watched the rugby league players take to the field over the weekend, King said it is frustrating to know he still has six weeks before football matches return.
"Knowing they're a bit more of a contact sport, they have hands all over each other and we can't even play our game, it is a bit frustrating.
"The people looking after us know more than me, I trust them to know what they're talking about and protect our health."
While the NRL has avoided bubbles, the A-League has confirmed matches will be played out of a NSW hub.
A location is yet to be finalised, however an FFA spokesperson recently told the Sydney Morning Herald that WIN Stadium and Netstrata Jubilee Stadium are the leading contenders to host the competition.
King is excited by the slightly odd opportunity to play an A-League match at an empty WIN Stadium.
"I hadn't heard about that, that would be pretty special. There won't be any fans, which would make it a bit less special, but playing at WIN would be pretty cool."
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