Another U-23 football player tests positive for Covid

KUALA LUMPUR – Another player in the national Under-23 (U-23) football team has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Asian Football Federation (AFF) U-23 Championship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 

Head coach Brad Maloney said the positive result came from Antigen Rapid Test Kit (RTK-Ag) and Polymerase Chain Reaction test (PCR) tests the team took upon landing in Phnom Penh, yesterday.

“He was taken to the medical facility (for isolation) and will remain there for the moment,” he told reporters in a virtual press conference today.

Last Wednesday (February 9), Terengganu FC defender Muhammad Safwan Mazlan was dropped from the team after testing positive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Maloney said his charges remain motivated and hoped to put on a competitive display during their opening Group B match against Myanmar on Tuesday (February 15), before taking on Laos on Friday (February 18).

“We will continue to see as much as we can for the first match and learn as much as we can, regardless of the competitiveness that I expect from them,” he said, adding that Malaysia has an advantage for semi-finals ticket following the withdrawal of defending champions Indonesia.

On selecting the team’s captain, Maloney said he hasn’t decided yet and only expected to name him before the first game. – Bernama, February 12, 2022