BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Although he is proud that his Selangor squad has shown that they have sufficient depth to perform despite the their growing crock list, head coach B. Satiananthan has revealed to Goal that he is looking to make use of the coming mid-season transfer window in order to look for replacements.
When met on Thursday, one day before their round nine Super League encounter against Perak at home, the former Felda United boss disclosed that although right back Syahmi Safari is expected to be fit enough to start from the bench on Friday, winger Syazwan Zainon has picked up an injury in their 4-3 win over Melaka United last Saturday, and is expected to be sidelined for one week.
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On top of Syazwan, the Red Giants have also been missing midfielder Endrick dos Santos, winger Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor and star striker Rufino Segovia through long-term injuries. However, despite their absence, Selangor have shown their grit to overturn a poor season-opening run of five matches without a win, to record four straight wins in all competitions, and climb up to fifth place in the standings.
"Kapet (Syazwan) has been injured since the other day (Melaka game)... so we'll make do with the players who are available.
"dos Santos' injury is a little puzzling, so it's hard for me to say. I have to discuss about using the coming transfer window with the board, and looking at my options.
"We cannot simply forget about Rufino; he may come back after two months. We have a month (the transfer window duration) to see whether he can play or I need to find a replacement. But nothing is set in stone yet. According to medical reports, he is making a quick recovery," said the former Malaysia head coach.
However, he was quick to add that his charges are more than capable of taking over the goal-scoring duty from the Spanish striker, and lauded their recent performance.
Out of the 11 goals they have scored in their past four matches, only one was netted by a foreign player; Sandro da Silva.
"I'm really pleased with those who were given a chance, when we're currently playing with only three foreign players
"I insist that I have no second-pick players. Those who are on the bench have the same roles and responsibilites as those who start matches. I have previously brought on players who then succeeded in introducing a new dimension to our game, like what happened against Melaka and Terengganu.
But foreign players can make significant contributions, just look at the goal-scoring charts of the previous seasons. That's why I'm still hoping for Endrick and Rufino's return," explained Satiananthan.
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