KUALA NERUS: The Turtles fans hope of catching a glimpse of naturalised player, Liridon Krasniqi (pix) in the Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (SSI) in Islandar Puteri on Feb 24 will not be realised.
Terengganu FC (TFC) head coach, Tomislav Steinbruckner confirmed that the attacking midfielder could not be fielded due to compliance with the agreement in the loan contract between the Turtles squad and JDT.
However, Steinbruckner said that this will not dampen TFC’s spirit because he already has a plan to face the challenge of the Southern Tigers.
“Of course, we are happy to have Liridon play as an offensive midfielder to improve on our attacks. But he cannot play in the Charity Chield match because it’s all in the contract between TFC and JDT.
“I am preparing something different against JDT. Hope it will work and we can get our first win in the Malaysia League,“ he said when met at the team’s training session at the Gong Badak Sports Complex here.
Steinbruckner said that apart from Liridon, several other key players including import midfielders Habib Haroon and Faiz Nasir are also unable to play due to injury.
He added that Habib had to be rested for two to three weeks due to a hamstring injury while Faiz, w ho plays on the wing, is not fully fit as he has only been back training with the team for two days after a long break.
“Habib was injured since the pre-season match in Thailand last week and Faiz also just came back for training after a long break due to health and family problems.
“As for the goalkeeper, Suhaimi (Suhaimi Husin) and Abe (Rahadiazli Rahalim) are the first choices because of their experience and performance,“ he said. - Bernama