Injury-hit India to travel to Laos for Cup qualifier

India will take on Laos in the forthcoming 2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier on June 2 with the return leg slated to played in Guwahati on June 7.

Coach Stephen Constantine puts the players through their paces in training.

With midfielder Vinit Rai having suffered an ankle injury in the last training session in Guwahati, a list of 20 players would be departing for Laos from Delhi early on May 31 for India’s forthcoming 2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Laos slated for June 2.

The return leg will be played in Guwahati on June 7.

National team coach Stephen Constantine informed that he had to make last minute changes with Vinit's ankle injury. “We had finalized on a list of 21 players who were to travel to Laos but now we will be travelling with a squad of 20 players,” he said.

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who became the first ever Indian player to play in a Premier League in Europe will join the team directly in Laos.

Besides Vinit’s injury, the squad has also been hit hard by injuries to other players, seven of whom Constantine feels would have started on any given day. Midfielders Rowlin Borges, Pronay Halder, Cavin Lobo, Bikash Jairu and defender Augustine Fernandes were either ruled out or released from the camp owing to injuries.

Furthermore, Dhanpal Ganesh and striker Robin Singh haven’t recovered from the injuries they sustained earlier. Add to that the injuries to CK Vineeth and David Lalriamuana, both of whom couldn’t even kick a ball in the camp despite being summoned, things haven’t worked the manner Constantine would have liked it to.

"There’s no reason to cry. We have a set of players who are ready. It’s an important match for us. The boys showed at the SAFF Championship what they were capable of,” Constantine maintained. “With not sufficient players available to play 11v11 in training, the focus was to improve the fitness levels of the players who reported.”

Squad

GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh.

DEFENDERS: Rino Anto, Keegan Pereira, Pritam Kotal, Arnab Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Fulganco Cardozo, Narayan Das.

MIDFIELDERS: Udanta Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Seityasen Singh, Md. Rafique, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Jackichand Singh, Alwyn George.

FORWARDS: Sumeet Passi, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sunil Chhetri.