Gathering on December 31; Tien Linh reported good news, only minor injuries

Striker Nguyen Tien Linh was lucky not to suffer a serious injury in the match where Binh Duong played away at the Hanoi Police Club in round 8 of the 2023/24 V-League on the evening of December 26.

Tien Linh is on the list of Vietnam national team preparing for the 2023 Asian Cup finals. (Photo: Song Ngu)

At the beginning of the second half of the match against Hanoi Police Club at Hang Day Stadium, Tien Linh was injured and lying on the field after a collision with Bui Hoang Viet Anh. In this situation, Tien Linh landed in the wrong position. The striker of the visiting team Binh Duong appeared to be in a lot of pain, needed medical assistance and had to leave the field on a stretcher.

Tien Linh's injury while the Vietnamese team is about to gather is bad news for coach Philippe Troussier.

In the list of Vietnamese players preparing for the 2023 Asian Cup just announced by the French strategist, Tien Linh is one of 6 strikers.

Binh Duong Club striker is highly expected because he not only has experience but also has high performance with 3 goals in V-League 2023/24.

On the morning of December 27, Binh Duong Club doctors re-examined Tien Linh's injury. Fortunately, the striker born in 1997 did not have a ligament problem, but only a soft tissue problem, and needed to rest for 1-2 days before returning to training.

This is good news not only for Tien Linh, the Thu Dau Mot team but also for coach Philippe Troussier.

While Tien Linh was lucky to escape injury, central defender Thanh Chung and Que Ngoc Hai are racing against time to recover.

Thanh Chung suffered an injury in the match between Hanoi FC and Ha Tinh in round 7 of V-League 2023/24. He suffered a contusion of the anterior cruciate ligament and a slight contusion of the lateral meniscus. The 26-year-old central defender was then unable to join Hanoi FC in the away match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai in round 8.

According to the team doctor, Thanh Chung will have to rest for about two weeks. This information will certainly make coach Philippe Troussier worried.

As for Que Ngoc Hai, this central defender has a muscle injury. Currently, Que Ngoc Hai is in Hanoi to prepare to join the Vietnam team but he certainly will not be able to practice right away.

Regarding the Vietnam national team's training session, according to the original plan, Quang Hai and his teammates were scheduled to gather in Hanoi on December 28, right after the end of round 8 of the 2023/24 V-League. However, coach Philippe Troussier decided to postpone the training session to December 31.

Thus, the Vietnamese team has less than a week of training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, before leaving for Qatar on January 5, 2024. At the 2023 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team is in Group D with Japan, Iraq and Indonesia.

The tournament will take place from January 12 to February 10, 2024 at 9 stadiums in 5 cities in Qatar. Before the opening match against Japan, the Vietnamese team will have a friendly match, a "dress rehearsal" match with Kyrgyzstan on January 9.