PETALING JAYA: Harimau Malaya interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe remains unfazed by the last-minute withdrawal of six Selangor players as he prepares the national squad for two international friendlies this month.
The six players were ruled out due to injuries following Selangor’s FA Cup semi-final second-leg defeat to Kuching City on Sunday.
They are Nooa Laine, Ahmad Zikri Khalili, A. Selvan, Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman, Syahir Bashah and Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar.
Selangor defender Quentin Cheng was the only player from the club to report for national duty.
Cheng Hoe has since called up five other players, including Terengganu duo Suhaimi Husin and Safwan Mazlan, Sabah’s Dominic Tan, Kuala Lumpur City’s Syafiq Ahmad and Kuching City’s Ariff Farhan Md Isa, who helped his team reach the FA Cup final on Sunday.
Despite the changes, Cheng Hoe has less than five days to prepare his squad for Saturday’s clash against China at the Zhaoqing New District Sports Centre in Guangdong.
Harimau Malaya will then face Yemen at the same venue on Nov 17.
“We have yet to finalise the list of players reporting for national duty as some are still travelling to join the team today (yesterday).
“We are also waiting for updates on whether there are any injured players.
“We have players on the standby list who can be called up if needed, especially since we knew there were FA Cup semi-final matches on Sunday.
“We had anticipated the possibility of injuries, but as a coach, I remain positive. We have given the players until dinner time today (yesterday) to report for duty,” said Cheng Hoe.
