Midfielder Chương Thị Kiều. Photo VFF

HÀ NỘI  Midfielder Chương Thị Kiều will miss the AFC Women's Olympic Qualification Tournament play-off due to injury, the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) has confirmed.

Kiều was advised by doctors to get surgery on a long-standing knee injury that she had been playing through, including in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines last December.

She will need about nine months to recover from the surgery.

Kiều was one of the key players for both HCM City FC which won the national championship last October and the Việt Nam women’s football team who triumphed at the AFF Cup last August and won their sixth SEA Games title in the Philippines.

“Without Kiều, the line-up of Việt Nam won’t be complete. The strength of the defence will be decreased significantly,” said coach Mai Đức Chung.

Chung said he may call up midfielder Phạm Thanh Huyền of Hà Nội to replace Kiều.

Early next month, Việt Nam will leave for Australia to take part in the first leg at the McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Australia, on March 6.

Following the game in Australia, the second leg will take place at Cẩm Phả Stadium in the northern province of Quảng Ninh on March 11. VNS