(VOVWORLD) - Malaysia finds itself majorly handicapped with five of its national players sidelined with injuries ahead of their confrontation against Vietnam in the World Cup qualifiers.
The five players suffering from injuries are midfielders Abdul Halim Saari, Nor Azam Abdul Azih, Partiban Janasekaran, Brendan Gan and Shahrul Mohd Saad (Perak).
Center forward Nor Azam picked up an ankle injury in Pahang PA’s 3-1 home win over Melaka United at Malaysia Cup last Saturday.
Coach Tan Cheng Hoe called in another forward, Azizan Nordin, while looking for Nor Azam to recover soon.
“We look forward to Nor Azam coming back soon, because he had patches of brilliant play during the World Cup 2022 campaign and Asian Cup 2023. We are waiting for the doctor's diagnosis,” Tan told the New Strait Times.
Besides Nor Azam, Shahrul Saad’s injury compounds Tan’s troubles, as he was a key player in Malaysia's defense. Of note is the return of Aidil Zafuan, who was the team captain for Malaysia in the AFF Cup 2018.
“Aidil Zafuan’s return brings us more confidence. I think his experience and skill set will help us reach our goal,” midfielder Shahrul said.
Malaysia is set to travel to Hanoi’s My Dinh stadium on Oct 10 for the third match day of the World Cup. Vietnam previously beat Tan Cheng Hoe’s squad at the AFF Cup 2018 final.