Singapore and Tampines Rovers striker Fazrul Nawaz is targeting the start of the next phase of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying for his international comeback.
The 31-year-old will miss the rest of this year, including November's AFF Suzuki Cup, because of an ACL injury in his left knee. He will meet his doctor on Sept. 14 to plan a major operation.
But the 84-cap veteran wants to be pushing for national selection again for the first of the Asian Cup qualifiers at the end of March.
Fazrul tore his ACL while playing for Tampines against Hougang United in the S.League on Aug. 17. It was his second major knee injury in eight years after suffering a similar misfortune on his right knee in 2008.
"Once I heard that sound, I knew it was a bad injury," Fazrul told ESPN FC. "But I am strong enough. I've gone through it before, and will go through it again."
Fazrul watched his international teammates at their final training session before they left for Manama on Tuesday ahead of Thursday's friendly in Bahrain.
He said that he has accepted his injury, and is focusing on his long road back to full fitness.
"I am a bit disappointed but I know that I will come back even stronger," he said. "I just wish all the best for my teammates for the Suzuki Cup and I hope they will do well in the tournament.
"For me, there's [Khairul] Amri, Safuwan [Baharudin], Iqbal [Hussain] and Sahil [Suhaimi] who can definitely step up. They will be up for it."
Having re-established himself after previous injury setbacks, Fazrul added that he didn't hurry in his return to competitive action.
"My target now is not to rush, but I am aiming for the new season [in 2017] and hopefully I will be back for [Singapore's] Asian Cup qualifiers," he said.
Fazrul has 14 international goals and was a Suzuki Cup winner with Singapore in 2007 and 2012.