Bangladesh will have their full squad together on Monday when expatriate forwards Hamza Choudhury and Farhaan Ali Wahid arrive in Dhaka to join the national team’s SAFF Championship campaign, while experienced defender Topu Barman is also making progress in his bid to return from injury for the Sri Lanka match.
Hamza and Farhaan are scheduled to land in Dhaka on 9 November and are expected to join the team’s training session on the same day, giving head coach Thomas Dooley more options ahead of Bangladesh’s second group match against Sri Lanka on 11 November.
Bangladesh have registered 28 players for the regional tournament under SAFF regulations, with 26 already involved in preparations. Hamza and Farhaan were granted permission to join late because of their club commitments.
Team manager Amirul Islam Babu confirmed their arrival on Saturday.
“Hamza Choudhury and Farhaan Ali Wahid will land in Dhaka on Monday, 9 November. If you come to the training session that day, you will see both of them. You will be able to see Hamza Choudhury and Farhaan Ali on Monday,” Babu said at the team’s training session at Kings Arena on Saturday.
There was also encouraging news on Topu, who missed Bangladesh’s opening match against Bhutan after picking up an injury during the warm-up.
The experienced defender, who was named in the starting line-up for that match, has been undergoing rehabilitation under the supervision of a foreign fitness trainer and is making steady progress.
With three days remaining before the Sri Lanka fixture, the coaching staff will monitor his recovery before making a final decision on his availability.
“Topu Barman was in the starting XI for the last match, but he felt pain during the warm-up and, as a result, could not play. Under the observation of our fitness trainer, he is gradually recovering and making progress. Insha Allah, we are hopeful that he could play against Sri Lanka if the coach feels he is ready,”Babu told reporters.
