India vs Australia, AFC Asian Cup 2023: Igor Stimac Confirms Sahal Abdul Samad Out Of Match

India vs Australia, AFC Asian Cup 2023: Amid speculation that Sahal Abdul Samad is not fit enough to play the opening match of AFC Asian Cup 2023, India head coach Igor Stimac has confirmed that the attacking midfielder is not 100 percent fit and the Croatian won't risk him against Australia.

Sahal Abdul Samad made the cut the Indian national squad for the AFC Asian Cup in time after the 26-year-old Mohun Bagan footballer recovered in time from his injury. MyKhel shared the news on January 7 that Samad is unlikely to be fit for the game and may miss out on the entire tournament as well.

"I have four players missing from the match, all of them would have started and Sahal is among them," said coach Stimac during the pre-match press conference in Al Rayyan. "We surely would miss them as we will lack some physicality and technical ability in those areas but it is a chance for other players to shine. As far as Sahal Abdul Samad is concerned, he will only play when he is 100 per cent fit and at the moment he is not fit for the match tomorrow."

The other three players are defensive midfielder Jeakson Singh, centre-back Anwar Ali and wide forward Ashique Kuruniyan. All three of them didn't make the squad for the AFC Asian Cup due to their long-term injuries.

Sahal Abdul Samad meanwhile suffered an ankle injury during the Mohun Bagan vs Odisha match in Indian Super League in December after a horrible tackle by Moroccan midfielder Ahmed Jahouh. The technical-gifted Indian footballer is hopeful that his recuperation will be through before the second match against Uzbekistan on January 18.

"There's nothing you can do much about injuries," said Sahal Abdul Samad. "It's not a muscle injury or something, it's a contact injury. I will obviously miss the first game but will be raring to be back in the team for the second game if the recovery goes well. It's obviously disappointing to miss the first game," said Sahal, who is playing his first AFC Asian Cup.