Hà Nội — Defender Đỗ Duy Mạnh will be sidelined in Việt Nam’s match against Yemen in the Asian Cup on Wednesday because he has received two yellow cards in the tournament.

Mạnh was shown one card in the match against Iraq on January 8 and another in the game with Iran on January 12.

The Hà Nội FC player has been a key part of Coach Park Hang-seo’s line-up for recent tournaments and at the ongoing competition.

The South Korean manager will have to find a way to deal with the absence. Mạnh could be replaced by Nguyễn Phong Hồng Duy or Nguyễn Thành Chung, who has not yet played a single minute in the tournament.

In another case, Phạm Đức Huy of Việt Nam reportedly lost his short-term memory after colliding with Iranian player Mehdi Taremi in the second half of the last match.

The midfielder did not remember playing in the match, and trying to recall gave him a headache.

Doctors confirmed the news and said that with rest Huy should gradually get his memory back.

Huy posted a status and a photo on his Facebook page: "I may not remember anything but when look at this picture I would know that I fought with my teammates!"

A win over Yemen could help Việt Nam rank as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group stage, which would qualify the team for the knockout round.

The match against Yemen will take place at 11pm on Wednesday (Hà Nội time) and will be live aired on VTV5, VTV6 and Fox Sports.

Despite loosing the first two matches, Vietnamese players received strong support from the Việt Nam Football Federation as they got bonuses totalling VND1.5 billion (US$64,600). — VNS