Malaysia could well be without two of their key players as they embark on a Tour of Australia next week.
The duo, Ismail Abu and Kelvinder Singh picked up knocks in the semi final loss against Ireland in the Champions Challenge last week and may not recover in time for the trip which will see the team up against Australia in two Test matches at Adelaide before moving on to Canberra where they are scheduled to play in a 4 Nation Invitational that comprises of Australia, Canada and the Australian back up squad.
In revealing this, team manager George Koshy said that the two players will undergo treatment at the National Sports Institute to gauge the extent of the injuries and it was more then likely that they will be ommitted from the squad to Australia.
"Ismail has a swollen knee while Kelvinder has problems with his ankle and thigh,"said George.
"It was against Ireland that they picked up the injuries and Ismail was not in the team for the placing match. I do hope they recover fast but we will not rush them as the World Cup qualifiers are more important.
George also defended the team's performance at the Champion Challenge, despite the fact that the team failed to achieve the target to finish as champions.
"The detractors need to see the matches and not make assumptions with regards to the performance,"contends George.
"We were not as sharp as we hoped to be, especially infront of goal and that cost us dear. But more importantly it gave the coaches further insights with regards to the areas we need to imp-rove upon before November.
And in a bgreak form convention, George and coach Tai beng Hai are expected to face the media in the next few days to answer questions with regards to the teams performance in Dublin as well as show videos of the matches for the benefit of the Malaysian media.
On his position as Team Manager, which has come under scrutiny from several quarters, George said that he had no intention of running away from the duties entrusted to him.
"Should MHF feel that they need a change in management and want me to vacate my position, I will do so,"said George.
The duo, Ismail Abu and Kelvinder Singh picked up knocks in the semi final loss against Ireland in the Champions Challenge last week and may not recover in time for the trip which will see the team up against Australia in two Test matches at Adelaide before moving on to Canberra where they are scheduled to play in a 4 Nation Invitational that comprises of Australia, Canada and the Australian back up squad.
In revealing this, team manager George Koshy said that the two players will undergo treatment at the National Sports Institute to gauge the extent of the injuries and it was more then likely that they will be ommitted from the squad to Australia.
"Ismail has a swollen knee while Kelvinder has problems with his ankle and thigh,"said George.
"It was against Ireland that they picked up the injuries and Ismail was not in the team for the placing match. I do hope they recover fast but we will not rush them as the World Cup qualifiers are more important.
George also defended the team's performance at the Champion Challenge, despite the fact that the team failed to achieve the target to finish as champions.
"The detractors need to see the matches and not make assumptions with regards to the performance,"contends George.
"We were not as sharp as we hoped to be, especially infront of goal and that cost us dear. But more importantly it gave the coaches further insights with regards to the areas we need to imp-rove upon before November.
And in a bgreak form convention, George and coach Tai beng Hai are expected to face the media in the next few days to answer questions with regards to the teams performance in Dublin as well as show videos of the matches for the benefit of the Malaysian media.
On his position as Team Manager, which has come under scrutiny from several quarters, George said that he had no intention of running away from the duties entrusted to him.
"Should MHF feel that they need a change in management and want me to vacate my position, I will do so,"said George.
