Indian Football: Amarjit Singh ruled out of Oman and Qatar World Cup qualifier matches after suffering a broken hand
Talented Indian midfielder Amarjit Singh Kiyam has been ruled out of the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier matches against Oman and Qatar on September 5 and 10 respectively. The 18-year-old suffered a broken hand during training and would be forced to miss two crucial games in India's World Cup qualifying campaign.
Amarjit Singh has already undergone a surgery for the broken hand and is set to be out for at least 8-12 weeks.
Amarjit has been one of the finds for the senior team ever since Croatian head coach Igor Stimac took over the reins before the Kings Cup in Thailand. After missing out on the first game against Curacao, Amarjit quickly impressed Stimac with his confident display against hosts Thailand, a game India went onto win by a 1-0 margin.
"I'm really impressed with how he looks on the pitch, and how mature he looks with respect to his age. The way he plays is something which gives us hope. He along with Raynier (Fernandes), completely changed the game against Curacao," Igor Stimac said.
"He is among the players we rely on. All of them have good abilities, and we will work on advancing their game as they are our future," he added.
Amarjit, used as a defensive mid-fielder behind the more creative duo Sahal Abdul Samad and Anirudh Thapa was touted to be an integral member of the team going into the World Cup qualifiers. In fact, the three young mid-fielders turned out to be the rare silver linings for India in an otherwise disappointing Intercontinental Cup.
The ex-India U17 captain had impressed the coaching staff with his consistent performances for Indian Arrows in the I-League over the past couple of seasons. His mature performances even earned him a hefty contract with Indian Super League outfit Jamshedpur FC. Given that the youngster has suffered a broken hand, he is set to miss the club's pre-season and also the beginning of the ISL.
The remaining 27-member preliminary squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Vishal Kaith.
DEFENDERS: Rahul Bheke, Nishu Kumar, Pritam Kotal, Anas Edathodika, Sandesh Jhingan, Narender Gahlot, Sarthak Golui, Adil Khan, Subhasish Bose, Mandar Rao Dessai.
MIDFIELDERS: Nikhil Poojary, Udanta Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Raynier Fernandes, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul Samad, Rowllin Borges, Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan.
FORWARDS: Balwant Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.