Singapore’s top marksman Khairul Amri looks set to miss the Lions’ final World Cup qualifier against Afghanistan on March 29.
The striker has not played in the S-League for the Garena Young Lions this season – and is set to miss a few more weeks due to a troublesome calf.
“Hopefully, I will be ready to play next month,” Amri, who has netted 30 goals in 103 appearances for Singapore, told The Straits Times on Monday. “Actually, I healed about 11/2 months ago but I will be dragging my rehabilitation so as to recover fully.
“The reason why I’m still not playing is because I want to concentrate on the recovery and get that calf muscle really strong.”
Having netted five goals in his last 10 appearances for the Lions, Amri could be a crucial miss, especially since his likely replacements are also struggling.
Geylang International’s Sahil Suhaimi, Home United’s Khairul Nizam and Tampines Rovers’ Fazrul Nawaz have all started the season slowly. None has more than one S-League goal to his name. Another possible replacement, Irfan Fandi, has yet to score for Home.
With the 2018 World Cup qualifiers also doubling up as the Asian Cup qualifiers, the match against Afghanistan could prove crucial.
Singapore are third in Group E on 10 points after seven games. Japan top the group on 16 points, with Syria one point behind.
While the Lions are already mathematically out of contention to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, if they remain third in the five-team group, they are guaranteed a place in the third round of Asian Cup qualifying.
In fact, they are well placed to qualify ahead of fourth-placed Afghanistan, who are on six points and have two games left. The Afghans face powerhouses Japan on March 24, five days before they end their campaign against the Lions.
With the Afghans unlikely to get any points against Japan, Singapore could confirm third place even before they face Afghanistan.
This could make Amri’s absence less dire and also potentially give coach Bernd Stange a chance to test out new players in the central striker’s role.
One contender is the uncapped Fareez Farhan of Garena Young Lions. He is currently the highest local-born scorer in the S-League, having scored two goals.
He said: “To be called up for the national team is something I’d dreamt of as a kid.
“I just want to continue to strive to improve myself as a player and one day play for the national team.”
However, when Amri missed the Oct 13 World Cup qualifier against Cambodia, Stange turned to Fazrul, who came off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 victory.
And the 30-year-old, who has nine goals in 70 appearances for Singapore, is confident the team will cope without their star man.
“We have been in this situation before; he’s very important to us but we have many able replacements in the team. We are strong as a team and this may not be a problem for us,” said Fazrul.
“The team have to cope (without Amri) but we know our strengths and hopefully we can get through this.”
This article was first published on March 16, 2016.
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