Juzaili to undergo knee surgery

BY S. SIVABALAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Pahang midfielder Mohd Juzaili Samion will undergo surgery on his right knee at the Gleneagles Hospital here on Saturday and that will put him out of action for six months. 

Juzaili, who was a member of the national Under-23 team who won the bronze medal in the recent Vietnam SEA Games, sustained the injury in a pre-season match against Selangor PKNS at the Pulapol Ground here last Friday. Pahang won the match 3-0. 

“It is disappointing. The Pahang team look very good this year and I want to be part of the action for the whole season,” said Juzaili. 

CROCKED:Mohd Juzaili Samion of Pahang will undergo an operation on his right knee on Wednesday that will put him out of action for siz months.

But Juzaili can only expect to make a return to action for Pahang in the Super League in May. The season kicks off on Feb 14. 

Juzaili will also not get to feature for the national team in the Olympic qualifiers in February. 

“That is perhaps the bigger blow – not getting to play for the national team. I hope that I can recover from the surgery as quickly as possible,” he said. 

Pahang coach Zainal Abidin Hassan said: “Missing a player of his calibre will make things harder for us. I am currently looking for someone to replace him. 

“I have to work fast to build up a strong side. I am changing the system and the players are responding well.” 

Pahang have already signed up two Argentines – Lucas Cominelli and Fernando Spinelli. 

The local additions to the team are defender Irwan Fadli Idrus, midfielders Indra Putra Mahayuddin and Abdul Ghani Malek and goalkeeper Azmin Azram Aziz. 

Besides the match against Selangor PKNS, Pahang also played a few other warm-up games in the past few weeks and they included a 1-1- draw against Malacca and wins over Malacca Telekom (3-2), MK Land (1-0) and Negri Sembilan (2-0). 

“With the intensive training and pre-season matches, I think the team should be well and ready before the season begins”, said Zainal, who was hired to replace Yunus Alif in October. 

Pahang will be playing four more pre-season matches – against MK Land (Jan 5), Terengganu (Jan 8), Singapore (Jan 21) and Selangor (Jan 24).