Vietnam’s chances in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2019 tournament took a hit when star defender Tran Dinh Trong was injured. Now his replacement Luc Xuan Hung is out too.
Injuries mount for Vietnam even as the AFF Suzuki Cup holders gear up to take on North Korea in a friendly this evening in Hanoi.
Tran Dinh Trong, who was instrumental in Vietnam’s successful Suzuki Cup tournament, was initially ruled out of the Asian Cup that starts on Jan 5th, with Luc Xuan Hung being called up as his replacement.
It was then reported that Dinh Trong would travel to South Korea for a surgery that would shelve him for up to 2 months.
However, his replacement Luc Xuan Hung also suffered a serious knee injury in training, which threw a spanner in the works as far as Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo was concerned.
Initially, Hang-seo mentioned that he wants to recall Dinh Trong into the squad as he was just dealing with a knock on his leg which only required minor surgery – something that could be postponed.
However, reports suggest that he’s opted to go with Becamex Binh Duong FC defender Ho Tan Tai instead now, after calling the 21 year old up to the squad.
As of now, it is still unconfirmed if Dinh Trong would be called up as well, or if it is because Hang-seo feels he cannot play that Tan Tai has been absorbed into the fold.
More to follow.
(Photo Credits: Honolulu Star-Advertiser)