Soccer-Australia goalkeeper Ryan ruled out of World Cup qualifiers

Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan has been ruled out of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Tajikistan after suffering a knee injury playing for Spanish club Valencia. "It's a blow for Mat to miss these games but he picked up a knock in Spain overnight and with the travel distance and the lateness of his club game we have decided to bring in Eugene Galekovic," Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said on Monday. "Eugene is more than capable replacement and he will join us in Perth and we will move ahead without Mat." Adelaide United stopper Galekovic, 34, has won eight caps for his country but none since 2013. Bournemouth backup Adam Federici and Leyton Orient's uncapped Alex Cisak are Postecoglou's other goalkeeping options in the squad. Asian champions Australia host Bangladesh in Perth on Thursday before travelling to Dushabe for the Sept. 8 Group B fixture against Tajikistan. Australia opened the joint 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a narrow 2-1 win in Kyrgyzstan in June. Jordan, the other team in the group, are expected to be Australia's closest challengers for top spot, which guarantees passage to the next stage of Asian qualifying for Russia 2018. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)