Football
ESPN staff 8y

Perak's Nazirul Naim ruled out Malaysia's friendly against Indonesia

The Malaysian camp has been hit by another setback after Nazirul Naim was been ruled out with a hamstring injury for the friendly against Indonesia in Solo on Sept. 6.

The Perak left-back, who has been impressive this season, was the only player who failed to report for training at FAM headquarters this week.

His absence will be a worry for coach Ong Kim Swee, who could also be without Brendan Gan and Hazwan Bakri against their potential 2016 Suzuki rivals, who will be playing their first game in a year after the lifting of a 12-month FIFA ban.

"Nazirul was ruled out after the inspection by our medical team. His injury will require one to two weeks to recover and we can't include him," said Kim Swee on the FAM website.

The 45-year-old also added he may not call on a replacement for Nazirul and will get by with a 23-man squad. Felda United's Christie Jayaseelan, Selangor defender Shahrom Kalam, as well as Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) representatives Izham Tarmizi, Junior Eldstal, Fazly Mazlan and Mahali Jasuli are the others out due to injuries.

Kim Swee, however, is pinning his hopes on both Brendan (back) and Hazwan (ankle) to recover before the team leaves for Indonesia on Sunday.

"They are not lacking in match fitness and are looking good to recuperate by Sunday. But we will have to continue monitoring their situation," said Kim Swee.

Malaysia suffered mixed fortunes on their Oceania Tour in June, managing only one win in three games, against New Caledonia.

After the squad returned, Kim Swee was rocked by the retirement of the JDT quartet of Safiq Rahim, Amirulhadi Zainal, S. Kunanlan and Aidil Zafuan. He has also yet to choose a replacement for captain Safiq, even though he has indicated that either Baddrol Bakhtiar, Khairul Fahmi or Amri Yahyah could be given the armband.

After Indonesia, Malaysia will continue their AFF Cup build up with friendlies against Singapore (Oct. 7) and Afghanistan (Oct. 11).

Malaysia squad (to face Indonesia on Sept. 6):

Fadhli Shas, Amri Yahyah, Azrif Nasrulhaq, Khairul Azhan Khalid, Hazwan Bakri, S. Veenod, Adam Nor Azlin, Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Brendan Gan, Wan Zack Haikal, Amer Saidin, Irfan Fazail, Zaquan Adha, Shahrul Saad, Hafizul Hakim, Abdul Latiff Suhaimi, Fakrul Aiman, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Fakri Saarani, Ronny Harun, Khair Jones, Matthew Davies, Safawi Rasid

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