Sent back by coach Troussier due to injury, Hoang Duc still played the full 90 minutes.

On the afternoon of January 23, The Cong Viettel Club met Hanoi FC in the Hana Play Cup 2024 friendly tournament. In the starting lineup of the army team, coach Nguyen Duc Thang included midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc in the official list of players.

This is surprising news because the midfielder from Hai Duong was previously diagnosed with an injury, did not recover in time and had to leave the Vietnam team when the list for the 2023 Asian Cup was announced. According to information announced by coach Philippe Troussier, Hoang Duc will not be able to practice normally until the end of January.

At the press conference on the afternoon of January 4 before leaving for Qatar, coach Philippe Troussier said: " Regarding Hoang Duc, the last time this morning, when we performed the injury test, he showed signs of a lot of pain. Duc is only treating the pain, but has not yet practiced rehabilitation with the doctor and physical therapist."

Hoang Duc was named in the starting lineup of The Cong Viettel on the afternoon of January 23.

Besides Hoang Duc, two players who left the national team during the training camp for the 2023 Asian Cup, Bui Tien Dung and Nguyen Duc Chien, are also on coach Nguyen Duc Thang's roster. Bui Tien Dung is the starter while Nguyen Duc Chien sits on the bench.

Hana Play Cup 2024 is an international tournament with the participation of 4 teams including The Cong Viettel, Hanoi FC, Bali United (Indonesia) and Daejon Hana Citizen (Korea). The teams will compete in the semi-finals on January 23 before playing the final and third place match on January 27.

The friendly tournament is an opportunity for clubs to maintain their competitive intensity, aiming for the return of V.League 2023/24 after Tet. Currently, domestic tournaments are on hiatus to make way for the Vietnam team to participate in the 2023 Asian Cup.

Coach Philippe Troussier and his team were eliminated early after the first two rounds. The Vietnamese team will play a formality match against Iraq on January 24.

Van Hai

Source: https://vtc.vn/hoang-duc-tro-lai-thi-dau-som-hon-du-doan-cua-hlv-troussier-ar849237.html