Goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel has been ruled out from the national team due to a groin injury, striking a blow to the Bangladesh side just two days before the start of the 10th SAFF Championship in Nepal.
National team head coach Lodewijk de Kruif recalled Ziaur Rahman as a replacement for Sohel. Zia reached Kathmandu on Wednesday to join the team.Sohel, the Dutch coach’s second-choice keeper, picked up the groin injury during a practice session after the team arrived in Nepal.
`Coach [De Kruif] asked me to send Zia immediately as a replacement for Sohel, who is suffering from a groin injury. We contacted Zia after De Kruif’s call and he is now with the team,’ Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said on Wednesday.
`Sohel may return home today, along with the final player to be cut from De Kruif’s squad ahead of the SAFF Championship,’ he added.
Meanwhile, there are still questions about the availability of midfielder Monayem Khan Raju, who was a last-minute addition to the squad as cover for players like Mamunul Islam and Sohel Rana, who are carrying different injuries.
Raju was not in the 30-member preliminary list that the BFF issued to SAFF. The BFF hopes to include him in the final squad but are still not sure that they will receive permission from SAFF to do so.
`We are not sure about the final cut, but it will be difficult for us to include Raju in the final squad as he was picked from outside the 30-member preliminary list. I’m not sure what will happen in the end,’ Shohag admitted.
-With New Age input
