KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Kedah can thank their lucky stars that the start of the Malaysia Cup campaign has been postponed from October 25 to November 6, due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, as this will give their injured players the chance to fully recover.

Kedah head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak is hopeful that his injured stars, including goalkeepers Ifwat Akmal Che Kassim (shoulder) and Shahril Saa’ri (calf) as well as midfielder Muhammad Hadin Azman (hamstring), would be fit once the Malaysia Cup kicks off next month.

“Ifwat and Shahril are coming along fine after their injuries while Hadin is still 50-50.

“Overall, I will make sure all the players get sufficient rest while at the same time ensure they maintain their fitness levels before Malaysia Cup competition kicks off,” Aidil said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) today.

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Terengganu FC coach Nafuzi Zain, meanwhile, hopes to use the next three weeks to test his players by holding friendlies against their feeder club, TFC II.

“It’s quite a challenging task for me as a coach to ensure my players do not lose their competitive mood in the next three weeks.

“So, it’s a bonus for us that we have a feeder club (TFC II) to test our players’ match fitness. We must make full use of the next three weeks so that we can go as far as possible in the Malaysia Cup competition,” said Nafuzi.

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The MFL recently decided to postpone the Malaysia Cup campaign from October 25 to November 6 following the implementation of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the Klang Valley and Sabah.

The early rounds of the matches involving the 16 teams (11 Super League sides and top five outifts from the Premier League) will be from November 6-8; quarter-finals on November 12 and November 13; semi-finals on November 17; and final on November 22. — Bernama