Sainsbury out as Milligan returns for Socceroos' World Cup qualifiers

Trent Sainsbury has been left out of Australia's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Chinese Taipei due to injury as captain Mark Milligan returns.

Maccabi Haifa defender Sainsbury, 27, is managing a "minor injury", ruling him out of the Group B clashes.

Australia started the second round of qualifying with a 3-0 win over Kuwait and are boosted by the return of Milligan.

"Our group did very well in their first qualifier away from home, so I am pleased to be able [to] maintain significant consistency within the squad as we seek to build upon our strong start to qualifying for Qatar," Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold said.

"Trent is managing a minor injury but remains on standby for the squad should we need to call him in. Bailey [Wright] is a big part of our plans and a great player and person to have in the squad, so we are pleased that he will be with us this month.

"Many of the players in our squad for this window have impressed with their clubs since our win in Kuwait, so we are confident that they will arrive ready to put on great performances both home and away."

The Socceroos face Nepal in Canberra on Thursday before taking on Chinese Taipei in Kaohsiung five days later.

Meanwhile, Sydney FC duo Rhyan Grant and Andrew Redmayne and Melbourne City forward Jamie Maclaren will miss the opening round of the A-League, their sides facing Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory respectively.

Australia: Mitchell Langerak (Nagoya Grampus), Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC), Mat Ryan (Brighton and Hove Albion); Aziz Behich (Istanbul Basaksehir), Milos Degenek (Red Star Belgrade), Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC), Brad Smith (Seattle Sounders), Harry Souttar (Fleetwood Town), Bailey Wright (Bristol City); Mustafa Amini (AGF Aarhus), Ajdin Hrustic (Groningen), Jackson Irvine (Hull City), James Jeggo (Austria Vienna), Massimo Luongo (Sheffield Wednesday), Mark Milligan (Southend United), Aaron Mooy (Brighton and Hove Albion); Brandon Borrello (Freiburg), Apostolos Giannou (AEK Larnaca), Craig Goodwin (Al-Wehda), Mathew Leckie (Hertha Berlin), Awer Mabil (Midtjylland), Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City), Adam Taggart (Suwon Bluewings).