Injury concerns in the Vietnam national team

Fear of career being buried by injury

Striker Bui Vi Hao is the latest name to bring bad news to coach Kim Sang-sik when he was informed that he had torn his ankle ligament. Even if everything goes smoothly, this star will still need 6-8 months to recover and return to the field.

Bui Vi Hao (number 15) injury is a loss for the Vietnam team.

Previously, the Vietnamese team lost three key players, Nguyen Xuan Son, Nguyen Van Toan and Ho Tan Tai, after the AFF Cup 2024. It is worth noting that these were all serious injuries and took a long time to recover.

As for Ho Tan Tai, he suffered a torn ligament in his right knee and is expected to be out of action for up to 8 months. Striker Nguyen Van Toan is also involved in this type of injury. The star player of Nam Dinh Club suffered a damaged knee ligament. Although the pain is not as severe as Tan Tai's, he has not been able to return to action yet.

As for Xuan Son, he suffered a fractured tibia and fibula. According to doctors' calculations, the Brazilian star could be on the bench for up to 9 months, counting from the time he goes under the knife.

But these are just the latest and most serious injuries to the Vietnamese team.

Looking further, since coach Park Hang-seo took over in 2017, many stars who were once expected to be the future of Vietnamese football have been "buried" by serious injuries. The names that have left the most regret for fans include Doan Van Hau, Dinh Trong and Xuan Truong.

Physical wear and tear

It is worth mentioning that all of the above injuries did not happen randomly but had a reason. The main reason was that they had to "work" too much.

Nguyen Xuan Son and Nguyen Van Toan were injured after AFF Cup 2024.

Take the case of striker Nguyen Xuan Son. Since he was eligible to play for the Vietnam national team, coach Kim Sang-sik let him play a full 394 minutes, meaning he played every minute until he got injured.

Even in matches where the Vietnamese team was almost certain to win and scoring was no longer the ultimate goal, the Korean coach still kept this star on the field.

At that time, many fans expressed dissatisfaction with the way Mr. Kim "drained" Xuan Son's strength, despite the fact that this is a player with very good physical strength.

Everyone knows that before joining the Vietnam national team, Xuan Son also went through a period of having to work hard for Nam Dinh Club in many arenas at the same time.

Of course, Xuan Son’s serious injury was not the fault of coach Kim Sang-sik because in this situation he fell by himself. But clearly, human physical strength and power have limits. When the limit is exceeded, injuries will inevitably occur.

Limit injuries from training

Returning to the Vietnamese team at present, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will first compete in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, the youth teams will compete in the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers (September 2025) and the 33rd SEA Games (December 2025).

At the national team level, coach Kim Sang-sik will certainly lose Xuan Son, Ho Tan Tai and possibly even Van Toan due to injury. This is a huge loss for the Vietnamese team because the team will soon have a decisive match with Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Bui Vi Hao is the best attacking star of Vietnamese youth football. Therefore, the absence of this star in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games will certainly affect the team's performance.

From a strategist's perspective, Mr. Phan Thanh Hung stated his opinion: "Player injuries can always happen. This is the nature of high-intensity training and competition. Preventing injuries is very difficult because it depends on the individual and their skills.

But there are also some measures to limit this such as having scientific training methods, eating, and nutritional supplements. In addition, coaches should also have plans to replace and rotate in each position."

According to this veteran coach, coaches also need to focus on building a deep squad. Each position on the field must have a capable reserve player to replace when necessary without causing too much impact on the quality of the game. This will help reduce the load on the pillars and avoid unfortunate injuries.

Speaking more about this issue, sports doctor Pham Hung said: "In my opinion, avoiding injuries must come from the training process, not when on the field. Player injuries come from two main causes: accumulated fatigue and direct collision on the field."

To limit injuries, it is necessary to do well in the system of exercises, recovery, and nutrition. Even if you do not eat and sleep well, the next day when you exercise heavily, it is very easy to get injured.

"Normally, players only have to practice at an average level, but close to the match day, the intensity will be pushed very high, which leads to overload. This is also a factor leading to injuries, so we need to have reasonable calculations.

Even during the preparation process, we must be meticulous and professional, not waiting until the player is injured to take him for treatment, this is unscientific," said Mr. Pham Hung, emphasizing that currently our monitoring of player health is still not good. Therefore, early detection of signs of injury to prevent is still limited.

According to a football expert, poor quality stadium surfaces are also one of the causes of player injuries, because they put great pressure on muscles and joints. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in upgrading infrastructure, especially national stadiums. Clubs should also prioritize training and playing on standard grass to minimize risks.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/noi-lo-chan-thuong-o-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-192250403232456684.htm