New Delhi . India's defensive stalwart Sandesh Jhingan, who has been out of action due to injury since January, has been included in the list of 26 probables for the friendly match against Malaysia. Captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has praised his return and compared his presence to that of Sunil Chhetri.
Gurpreet told in a virtual press conference, “Personally I am very happy (with Jhingan's return) because I have someone else apart from Amrinder (Singh) whom I can talk to because as you know the team. He is quite young and I am second in terms of age. So having someone like him who I can talk to in the dressing room makes me very happy.”
“I am also very grateful for Sandesh's return because obviously he is a very important pillar for his club and the national team. I just hope he keeps himself healthy and helps Indian football like he has done before. He is a very good defender and like Sunil (Chhetri) bhai, he is a generation player.”
Jhingan suffered a knee injury during the first half of India's AFC Asian Cup match against Syria and was ruled out of the FIFA WC Qualifiers and the end of the 202324 ISL campaign as well as the rest of the competition, in which Goa finished third. But finished just three points behind ISL Shield winners Mohun Bagan Super Giants.
The 31yearold centreback returned to action and played the full 90 minutes in a 30 win over Bengaluru FC, the latter's first league defeat of the season, and a 21 win over Punjab FC, which saw him Called into the training camp for the match against Malaysia on 18 November. The friendly match against Malaysia at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad will cap a disappointing year for Indian football.
After their exit from the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and Igor Stimac's departure from the coaching staff, not to mention Sunil Chhetri's retirement, India are still looking for their first win under head coach Manolo Marquez. The match against Malaysia could prove to be a good opportunity for the Spaniard to get an extra training day as the team only has one match to play in the current FIFA international window.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.