Malaysian junior hockey head coach Arul Selvaraj is extremely concerned with the fitness condition of his squad after three players were ruled out with injuries, ahead of the Junior Asia Cup.

The three key players are Aminuddin Zain, who picked up a backbone injury, as well as Azrul Rahman and Azwar Rahman – both of whom are out with leg injuries.

While Arul conceded that replacements could be sorted out if they injury is long-term, he remains hopeful of them recovering in time for the tournament.

“They are very important for the team and I had to wait until the end of our friendly game to receive feedback from our doctor, regarding their injury status.

“For now, I can only put them on the waiting list. I’m hoping they can recover as soon as possible. If they can’t join us, we would have to source for replacements, which could disrupt the harmony within the squad,” he told Utusan Malaysia.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he added.