Injuries Rule Six Selangor Players Out of Harimau Malaya Duty

Six Selangor FC players have been dropped from the Harimau Malaya squad for this week’s international friendlies against China and Yemen because of injuries, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said.

The players are Nooa Laine, Ahmad Zikri Khalili, A Selvan, Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman, Syahir Bashah and Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar.

FAM said on Monday (Nov 9) that it had received an official letter from Selangor FC confirming the players were injured in the second-leg FA Cup semi-final against Kuching City FC on Sunday night.

“FAM takes note of the matter and respects the situation faced by the club and the players concerned,” it said in a statement.

Five Replacements Called Up

Interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe has called up five players from the standby list to replace them.

They are Suhaimi Husin and Safwan Mazlan of Terengganu FC, Dominic Tan of Sabah FC, Ariff Farhan Md Isa of Kuching City FC and Syafiq Ahmad of Kuala Lumpur City FC.

Tier 1 Friendlies in China

Malaysia will play China on Saturday (Nov 14) and Yemen on Tuesday (Nov 17) in Tier 1 international friendlies in China.

Cheng Hoe had earlier named a 24-man squad that included two newcomers, Scoop reported. Of the 24, 11 were in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup squad and 11 were recalls.

The portal reported that he left out key Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) players because of the club’s packed November schedule, with four important matches this month in the Asian Champions League Elite, the Shopee Cup and the FA Cup semi-finals.

FAM president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said in September that the friendlies were crucial for collecting ranking points to improve Malaysia’s chances of a higher pot in the draws for the 2032 AFC Asian Cup and 2030 World Cup qualifiers.

The next FIFA international window after this month is in March 2027.

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