Abdul Samad Sahal, one of country’s dependable midfielders has been ruled out of India’s opening match of the Asian Cup against heavyweight Australia. The midfielder although was going through fitness training sessions for the last couple of days, has not attended ball-training. The match will be held at Ahmed Bin Ali stadium at Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Igor Stimac, chief coach held Samad’s club Mohun Bagan Super Giants responsible for the aggravation of Samad’s injury. During the pre-match media conference on Friday Croatian coach said, “How was that they (Mohun Bagan Super Giants) put him on the bench? That meant he had trained when he required absolute rest. He still cannot kick the ball.” Stimac also added, "We have lost four players from the team’s spine. Imagine any team in the world without four key players. Will they be at the same level? No."

Commenting on Australia, the chief coach explained, “Against Australia, we need boys who can run, fight, chase, pass and especially defend crosses which will come into our box. Their players come in numbers to attack the crosses, so what we badly need is height.”

Sahal who was present at the conference also said. “I’ll miss the first game. I’ll be looking to be back with the team for the next two games hopefully, if it (recovery) can go well.”