‘Injured El Khayati will take time to bounce back’

By PRITHIV RAJ A

CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC will miss creative midfielder Nasser El Khayati in the upcoming match against Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Saturday.

El Khayati is out with a hamstring injury and will miss his fifth match of the ISL season while goalkeeper Debjit Majumder is also unavailable as he has a groin issue. In the pre-match press conference, Chennaiyin head coach Thomas Brdaric provided injury updates on the absentees.

“First, Debjit is the latest player to be injured. He is not in the squad; he has some groin pain,” said Brdaric on Friday. “El Khayati has had some development treatment, but he needs time [to come back]. He cannot bounce back fast (quickly). It (his absence) is a pity. From that side, I wish him a fast (speedy) recovery so that he bounces back faster,” added Brdaric.

CFC will feel the on-field absence of Dutchman El Khayati, who is currently the joint top-scorer of the ISL 2022-23 season along with East Bengal FC forward Cleiton Silva and Lallianzuala Chhangte of Mumbai City FC (each of them have scored seven goals so far).

There is no clarity on the availability of striker Kwame Karikari, who has had his fair share of injuries in the past few months and is yet to start in an ISL match.

FRIDAY MATCH RESULT: NorthEast United FC 1 (R Philippoteaux 66) lost to Bengaluru FC 2 (N Sivasakthi 50, A Costa 90)