KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Sabah midfielder Mohd Azizan Nordin is set to join the Harimau Malaya squad for training tomorrow as Pahang’s Nor Azam Abdul Azih continues to struggle with an ankle injury he suffered in his clubs first quarterfinal leg against Melaka in the Malaysia Cup.
National team head coach Tan Cheng Hoe said he chose Mohd Azizan to join the squad for training as the 25-year-old had experience playing in several international friendly matches with the national team last year.
He said, however, Nor Azam would be retained in the national squad for some key matches ahead if he could recover from his ankle injury.
“We still expect Nor Azam to remain in the national team as he has played well (in some matches) in the 2022 World Cup/ 2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign, and we are still waiting for the team doctor’s assessment of his current condition,” said the 51-year-old coach when met by reporters on the first day of the national squad training session at the National Sports Council Field in Bukit Jalil, here today.
He said four other players besides Nor Azam were also injured, namely Selangor’s Abdul Halim Saari, and J. Partiban, Brendan Gan and Shahrul Mohd Saad from Perak.
Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe said he considered the warm-up match against Sri Lanka at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on October 5 as the best platform to test out some of the new players such as Johor Darul Ta’zim defender Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak and Selangor goalkeeper Mohd Khairul Azhan Mohd Khalid.
Meanwhile, Shahrul described Aidil Zafuan’s return to the national squad as the best tonic to the team’s defence ahead of the Group G match against Vietnam in the second round of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on October 15.
“Aidil’s inclusion in the squad will help us shore up the country’s defensive line-up against Vietnam, as he brings along his extensive experience and he has shown outstanding performances for the national squad prior to this,” said the 26-year-old centre-back, who is also Perak captain.
Malaysia are now third behind Thailand and the United Arab Emirates in Group G of the qualifiers, with three points from two matches. — Bernama
