Mamunul to miss Male tie

Captain Mamunul Islam will miss Bangladesh's international friendly against Maldives on September 1 due to a left thigh muscle injury.

The booters are playing the friendly in Male as preparation for their Asian Cup Play-Off Qualifiers against Bhutan on September 6.

The midfielder sustained the quad muscle injury on October 22 and has started rehab after a week's rest and the medical team is against taking any risks with him ahead of the Bhutan game.

“Mamunul has recovered from the pain and is now doing gym to regain strength. I told management not to take any risks before the Bhutan match,” physio Sajib Shams Bakshi said yesterday. Trainer Riedoh Burden echoed his sentiments.

National team manager Iqbal Hossain confirmed that Mamunul is not travelling to Maldives on Tuesday with a 23-member national team, which will be declared today.