Male’ (16th June) – Maldives National team goalkeeper Mohamed Faisal has been ruled of SAFF Championship with a knee injury less than a week ahead of the tournament.
United Victory’s goalkeeper Najih Ali has been named as his replacement in the 23-man squad.
Fasial, 34, who was named the best player of SAFF Championship 2018, suffered an injury to his knee and after further consultations has been ruled out of the tournament according to National team manager Abdulla Shibau.
“He was injured during the recently concluded training camp in Japan. A decision on the extent of Faisal’s injury was taken today after further consultations in Colombo,” Shiba said via a message to the media.
Faisal’s injury is a major setback to the Maldives side. Maziya’s goalkeeper Hussain Shareef is expected to be the first-choice keeper of the Maldives team in his absence.
Goalkeeper Najih Ali was first included in the national team in 2021 and was also part of the squad that competed in the SAFF Championship that year. Najih played for the national side in the Four Nations Cup held in Sri Lanka in 2021.
The national team is currently in Colombo, Sri Lanka after completing a training camp in Japan. The team will depart to India tomorrow.
Two-time champions Maldives is placed in Group B of the tournament, alongside Bhutan, Bangladesh and Lebanon.
Maldives will open their campaign against Bhutan on 22nd June.
