Injured Indonesia star Irfan Bachdim out of Suzuki Cup

SINGAPORE — Indonesia’s preparations for the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup have been dealt a blow after star attacker Irfan Bachdim had to pull out due to injury,

According to football website Goal Indonesia, the 28-year-old fractured his fibula during training on Tuesday and team doctor Syarief Alwi expects him to be ruled out for two months.

This comes just four days before the Garuda play defending champions and favourites Thailand in their Group A opener on Saturday. The other two teams in the group are Singapore and hosts the Philippines.

The absence of Irfan, who plays for J-League 2 side Consadole Sapporo, will throw a spanner in coach Alfred Riedl’s plans as he is a key player in the team’s attack.

It is deja vu for Irfan, who missed the 2014 tournament due to a late injury. He made his Indonesia debut in 2010 and has 10 goals in 20 caps to date. Yohanes Ferinando Pahabol from Persipura Jayapura will take his place.

Meanwhile, Malaysia coach Ong Kim Swee has expressed confidence that he can lead his team to the final, according to Malaysian newspaper The Star.

“I believe this team can go far in this tournament although we had mixed results in the last three friendlies,” he said on Tuesday. Malaysia drew 0-0 with Singapore, 1-1 with Afghanistan and beat Papua New Guinea 2-1. “I think we can reach the final but, before talking about that, let’s focus on qualifying for the semi-finals first.”

Under previous coach Dollah Salleh, Malaysia reached the final of the 2014 tournament, but lost 3-4 on aggregate to Thailand.