Barry-Murphy remains coy on Robertson's absence

Alex Robertson's absence at Cardiff City remains something of a mystery.

The midfielder was a first-team regular as the Bluebirds were relegated from the Championship last season, but has yet to play a single minute in this campaign.

Robertson missed the first few games with a leg injury he sustained during pre-season and, despite being available for selection for more than a month now, the Australian has been repeatedly left out of Cardiff's matchday squads.

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has previously said that Robertson needed to match the "intensity" of his fellow midfielders to regain his place in the team.

The 22-year-old was in Australia's squad for their friendly matches in the United States and Canada over the past week, but did not feature in either game.

"He's really keen to be at the forefront of the manager of Australia's mind," said Barry-Murphy.

"I think Alex wants to get in front of him and show him what he can do and hopefully when he comes back here, he can build on whatever he's done over the past two weeks when we see him tomorrow and push the season forward."

Asked if Cardiff Under-21s matches might help Robertson work on his fitness and aforementioned "intensity", Barry-Murphy replied: "No."

The Irishman then added: "Our focus is on putting Alex in the position where he can compete, get in the squad and play for the team and he doesn't need to play in the Under-21s from my point of view."

Barry-Murphy also explained why goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, another player who has not featured this season, was not in the 2025-26 squad photo which was released earlier this month.

"Jak's not with us currently," said Barry-Murphy. "He's back in Newcastle for personal reasons and he's dealing with that."