Injury-plagued India captain Bhaichung Bhutia remains in doubt for their Asian Cup opener against Australia on Monday.
Bhutia, who has been capped 102 times by his country, has been troubled by a calf muscle injury for several months adding to speculation that coach Bob Houghton would replace him in his 23-man squad.
But in a dramatic turn of events, the injury-prone 34-year-old striker was first dropped from the squad on Friday and registered as an official before being brought back in as a player.
In a late bid to regain full fitness, Bhutia called his doctor to Dubai for specialist advice so he could be fit for the match against Australia.
“Bhutia is not only the senior most member of the team, he is also our best player. India’s Asian Cup dream would not have been complete without Bhutia,” a team spokesman said.
In Bhutia’s absence, the skipper’s arm band will most probably go to Climax Lawrence, Gouramangi Singh, Subrata Pal or Surkumar Singh.
“The biggest concern for us over the last two months has been the injuries,” Bhutia said.
“Most of our first-choice players have had fitness issues but thankfully, they all have recovered just in time.”
“I assure you, the 22 players from this squad are fully fit. Only I have not managed to get in shape but I hope to be fine soon.”
“It will be disastrous for me if I cannot get fit in time. I have been waiting for my whole career for a stage like this to perform. To miss it will be a big disappointment.”
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