Malaysia are here for their opening Group C match against mighty Japan at the Tosu Stadium tomorrow.
Team manager Datuk Afandy Hamzah said there were reports of a “typhoon” scare surrounding the area but the team were relieved to hear from Japanese officials that it had safely passed the Fukuoka area.
“We are going to face the giants of Asia and the last thing we needed is another scare,” Afandy said at the team hotel here yesterday.
National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee put the boys through their paces under wet and chilly conditions (21°C) at the Level Five Stadium here yesterday.
“It may or may not be a good sign for the team ... I really don’t know. But the weather has been rather gloomy since we arrived on Friday. There had been talks of a typhoon close by this area but the boys are staying focused, irrespective of the weather condition,” said Kim Swee.
The former international said that injuries to his two key midfielders were his main worry for now. Mohd Irfan Fazail and Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor are both doubtful starters against Japan.
Both players on a two-month loan to Vion FC of Slovakia and played in the last warm-up match against the Omani Olympic side in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Kim Swee said Mohd Irfan hurt his knee while in training here while Wan Zack had picked up a light groin injury.
The duo did not go through the training session yesterday. Instead, they only did light exercises.
The injury is indeed a blow to Kim Swee as he will now have to face the number one seeds without his best men.
Apart from their high work rate and enterprising runs down the flanks, the duo have also chipped in with goals in the Asian Zone qualifying rounds against Pakistan and Lebanon.
The midfied is expected to be marshalled by K. Gurusamy and Abdul Shukor Jusoh while Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria and Mohd Amer Saidin are expected to stand by for Mohd Irfan and Wan Zack Haikal respectively.
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