NATXO INSA UNDERGOING INDIVIDUAL REHAB - HARIMAU MALAYA COACH

JOHOR BAHRU, March 21 (Bernama) -- The speculation surrounding Natxo Insa’s absence from the national squad’s training ahead of the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Nepal is now answered after national team head coach Peter Cklamovski confirmed that the player was currently undergoing rehabilitation.

The head coach said Insa has had a heavy schedule with his team, Johor Darul Ta’zim FC (JDT) recently and the player is currently on individual rehab to recover himself.

“He hasn't trained with us. He's on an individual rehab plan and we’ll make a decision later if he can join the team for team training,” he told reporters at a press conference here today.

Cklamovski said simillarly, another JDT player Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi is also on individual rehab but has been attending the training session.

“He's had slightly different rehab plans, still individual rehab plans but you could see him on the training field doing some work with the medical team. Hopefully, he can join training in our next session,” he said.

On the national squad’s progress in training, he said the team was progressing in every aspect and that players were committed during training sessions.

“We've been concentrating on what's important for us to be a good team, a strong team, an exciting team. Players are committed, they're hungry, they've got desire and that inspires me to keep pushing them to be at their best,” he said.

He said players have been adapting to his tactical approach and he will be using the last few training sessions to polish things up.

“We're moving in the right direction. It's some good things that we're working on in training that you can see coming into our game…We'll take advantage of the next few days to finalise our preparation,” he said.

Cklamovski is also calling for supporters to come to the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium and support the national team thus creating a scene similar to the AFC Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) game between JDT and Thailand’s Buriram United on March 11 which garnered over 34,000 supporters despite being held in the month of Ramadhan.

The Harimau Malaya squad is scheduled to face Nepal for the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Johor, on March 25.

-- BERNAMA