KUALA NERUS – National football squad coach Kim Pan-gon has been forced to drop Kuala Lumpur FC striker Haqimi Azim Rosli due to health issues.
He said there was no positive sign that the striker would be able to join centralised training with his teammates based on his observation of the 20-year-old’s current situation as of last night.
With the exception of Haqimi, the rest of the 26 selected players are in good condition and arrived for training at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium today.
“Until last night, we were waiting for Haqimi, but we could not see his physical improvement. “So, I think, for medical reasons, he will be dropped from our squad,” he said at a media conference at the stadium this evening.
Pan-gon has retained 17 of the 27 players he called up previously in Johor Baru, Johor in March, while the 10 new players called up this time include five players of the 2022 Asian Football Federation Cup: Safawi Rasid, Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi, Haqimi Azim, Azam Azmi Murad and Lee Tuck.
The rest include Natxo Insa, Junior Eldstal, Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi, goalkeeper Azri Ab Ghani, and newcomer Syahir Bashah.
The national squad will play two friendly matches against the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in Kuala Terengganu before heading to the finals of the 2023 Asia Cup. – Bernama, June 10, 2023
