Coach Troussier is "going gray" because of the injury woes of the Vietnamese team.
The Vietnamese team has not had a single practice session yet, but coach Philippe Troussier had to say goodbye to four stars including two central defenders Nguyen Thanh Chung and Bui Tien Dung, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, versatile player Nguyen Duc Chien and two young players Hoang Van Toan and Nguyen Thanh Nhan.
According to the latest announcement from VFF, Van Lam suffered an Achilles tendon injury while Duc Chien suffered an injury to his left transverse pubic bone. Bui Tien Dung was sent back to the club due to a disc injury while Thanh Chung suffered a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament.
Thanh Nhan sprained his ankle in the recent match between PVF-CAND and Hue Club in the national first division, while Van Toan tore his anterior talofibular ligament and will need to rest for at least 3 weeks.
Evaluating the strength of Vietnam's opponents in the 2023 Asian Cup finals
In addition to the 6 players who left the 2023 Asian Cup early, coach Philippe Troussier is still waiting for the recovery progress of 4 other important names: Tien Linh, Hoang Duc, Ngoc Hai, and Duy Manh.
Ngoc Bao (left) practices getting acquainted with the Vietnam U.23 team before joining the Vietnam national team.
Tien Linh is still having hip and wrist pain after a strong tackle from Bui Hoang Viet Anh in round 8 of the V-League, but he is fine. Duy Manh has been practicing lightly at the Hanoi Club, but his thigh muscles are atrophied, so he needs special care for about 3-4 days before he can practice with the whole team.
A big question mark is being raised for Hoang Duc when clinical examination shows that the ankle sprain injury needs 12 days to recover. Ngoc Hai's case of torn muscle attachment is also predicted to take 2 weeks.
Up to now, Mr. Troussier has kept these two players on "standby mode" until the last minute. But to best prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup, the 68-year-old coach will need backup plans.
Duc Chien leaves Vietnam national team early due to injury
In fact, Ho Tan Tai's attendance on December 31 will be a huge help as the captain of the Hanoi Police Club can play many positions from right back, center back to central midfielder.
Previously, Coach Troussier also called up the Binh Dinh Club players Do Thanh Thinh and Le Ngoc Bao to join the Vietnam national team. They both won the 2019 SEA Games gold medal in the Philippines and have good form in the 2023-2024 V-League.
Ngoc Bao is also a versatile player, able to play left-sided center-back (left-footed) to compete with Tuan Tai, and when needed can play full-back, while Thanh Thinh is one of the left-backs with the best crossing ability in V-League.
In fact, Coach Troussier's biggest concern lies in the defense, with only Tuan Tai, Viet Anh and Thanh Binh currently completely healthy. The appearance of Ngoc Bao and Tan Tai could be possible backup options.
The Vietnamese team is holding its breath waiting for Hoang Duc.
In the middle of the field, Quang Hai is shining again and will combine with Thai Son and Tuan Anh to create a trio of rotating central midfielders, not to mention the experienced Do Hung Dung.
In addition, the versatile players who can play central midfielder are still Van Khang, Viet Hung, Xuan Manh, Hai Long... so Mr. Troussier can calculate the worst case scenario without Hoang Duc.
In attack, the absence of young player Thanh Nhan actually does not affect the strength of the Vietnamese team much because Tuan Hai, Tien Linh, Quang Hai and Van Toan are in good form, while Dinh Bac is still making steady progress.
The fact that the U.23 Vietnam team trains in parallel with the Vietnam team also brings advantages, such as the way Mr. Troussier "transferred" goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet from the youth team to the first team to replace Dang Van Lam.
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