Left-back Đoàn Văn Hậu will miss the first two matches against Saudi Arabia and Australia of the final round of the World Cup 2022 Qualifiers due to a persistent knee injury. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — Đoàn Văn Hậu has been ruled out of the next two qualifying games of the 2020 World Cup through injury.

The 22 years old left-back left the squad on August 24 due to persistent knee problems that have not yet recovered.

He will miss the games against Saudi Arabia on September 2 and Australia on September 7.

“I’m sorry that I can’t make it to play in the next two matches,” Hậu said.

“However, there are still quality replacements regardless of the position. Hopefully, the whole team will have good results and we might meet again in the next matches.”

Previously, the Hanoi FC defender was part of the national team squad that met on August 5 to prepare for the two matches in September against Saudi Arabia and Australia.

However, due to the injury, he had to practice privately with the team doctors during the whole time without any official training with other teammates.

According to experts, it’s best for Hậu to return to Hanoi FC and focus on his treatment as he will need a long time to fully recover.

When the treatment is complete, he is expected to return to the squad to play in the remaining matches of the qualifiers as the young star has always been an important part of coach Park’s formation.

Beside Văn Hậu, Trần Minh Vương and Nguyễn Thành Chung are also seriously injured.

On August 23, Park Hang-seo called three more players as replacements including defender Trần Văn Kiên (Hanoi FC), midfielder Nguyễn Trọng Đại (Viettel FC) and striker Nguyễn Xuân Nam (Topeland Binh Đinh FC).

However, the main replacement for Văn Hậu on the left side will be Vũ Văn Thanh. The Hoàng Anh Gia Lai’s right-back has been playing in Hậu’s position in recent training sessions.

The Vietnamese team will fly to Saudi Arabia on August 27 and compete against the hosts on September 3. — VNS