Ross McCormack's career still on life support despite goals in Australia

Ross McCormack has scored seven goals in 10 games for Melbourne City in Australia, but don't let that fool you - his career is still in need of resuscitation.

It's hard to believe English Championship side Aston Villa signed McCormack for £12 million from Fulham - on the back of three stunning seasons including 28 goals for Leeds in 2013-14.

Now the 31-year-old is playing as a lone striker in the A-League and has so far failed to find the spark he is looking for since making the temporary move Down Under from Villa.

Pundits may point to seven strikes from 10 matches as a good return, but you only have to watch McCormack for 90 minutes to see how far away he is from his best.

McCormack has been deadly from set piece situations - scoring six of his seven goals from direct free kicks or penalties - but in open play he has been extremely disappointing.

There is hardly any exciting runs, quality link-up play with teammates, defence-splitting passes or individual brilliance.

You could say he works reasonably hard for the time he is on the pitch, but there is no question he could be in better shape physically, especially after three months of warm Australian weather.

McCormack has even been axed for one Melbourne City match for being late to training, according to reports, bringing back memories of the issues he had with commitment at Villa.

The former Rangers man hobbled off the ground with a knee injury during last Friday's match against Sydney FC and after initial suggestions he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament, reports since have confirmed his ligaments are intact.

With an injury layoff expected, we may not see him pull on a Melbourne City shirt again, depending on the severity of the complaint.

Regardless of his fitness, McCormack's future in Australia is clouded - he is an injury replacement player for Bruno Fornaroli and he cannot play under that status once the Uruguayan striker returns to fitness in late January-early February.

City dumped Argentine winger Fernando Brandan on Monday - opening up a foreign visa spot and a potential lifeline for McCormack to extend his stay in Melbourne.

But it's hard to see the club using that position on the Scottish forward when Fornaroli offers so much more in attack and it's doubtful the pair would function well as a duo.

McCormack will likely return to Villa in the new year with his career still in limbo and none of the questions answered about his sudden decline as a player.

Unfortunately it appears as if his time in the game is fizzling out and he soon will be featuring in England's lower leagues until retirement.