Que Ngoc Hai and Nguyen Tien Linh are at risk of missing the 2023 Asian Cup.

The two pillars of the Vietnamese team have not fully recovered from their injuries and will most likely not be able to join their teammates in Qatar for the Asian Championship.

Center back Ngoc Hai suffered a muscle tear during the national team training session in October and relapsed during a training session with Binh Duong on December 15. Tien Linh suffered a groin injury when Binh Duong lost 0-3 in a away match against CAHN in the V-League on December 26.

The duo have been called up by coach Philippe Troussier to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup, but doctors have assessed that they will not recover in time. Most likely, both will be removed from the squad before the team leaves for Qatar on January 5.

Nguyen Tien Linh (No. 22) and Que Ngoc Hai were with Vietnam to win the 2018 AFF Cup and enter the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup under coach Park Hang-seo. Photo: Lam Thoa

This development has increased the personnel crisis for the team. Immediately after the team gathered on December 31, coach Troussier had to remove goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, center back Nguyen Thanh Chung and midfielder Hoang Van Toan due to injuries while playing in the V-League. The French coach called up center back Bui Tien Dung but this player from The Cong could not respond due to health problems.

Currently, midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc is also injured, leaving open the possibility of participating in the upcoming tournament.

The 2023 Asian Cup will take place from January 12, 2024 to February 10, 2024 in Qatar. China was originally chosen as the host but withdrew due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 24 teams will be divided into six groups, playing a round-robin tournament to select the six first-place teams, six second-place teams and four best third-place teams to advance to the round of 16.

Vietnam is in Group D, facing Japan (January 14), Indonesia (January 19) and Iraq (January 24).

At the 2019 Asian Cup, Vietnam reached the quarter-finals and only lost to Japan 0-1 by a penalty goal by Ritsu Doan.

Lam Thoa

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/que-ngoc-hai-va-nguyen-tien-linh-nguy-co-lo-asian-cup-2023-4696228.html