‘Fully fit’ Hamza to join Bangladesh squad in Vietnam

Fit-again Hamza Choudhury is set to join the Bangladesh team in Vietnam for a FIFA friendly later this month.

The Leicester City midfielder had raised fitness concerns after sustaining a knee injury and leaving the pitch on crutches during a Championship match against Charlton Athletic on January 31, casting doubt over his availability for Bangladesh’s final AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against hosts Singapore on March 31.

However, after a six-match lay-off in February, the 28-year-old England-born midfielder returned with brief appearances against Ipswich Town on March 7 and Bristol City on March 11, putting him back in contention for the March 26 friendly against Vietnam and the Singapore tie.

“Hamza is now fully fit, and he will join the national team in Vietnam on March 22,” Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) media committee chairman Amirul Islam Babul said after a national teams committee meeting presided over by BFF president Tabith Awal yesterday.

Babul added that Spanish coach Javier Cabrera will announce a 30-member preliminary squad soon. The national camp begins in Dhaka on March 16 before a 23-member final squad flies to Vietnam on March 21.

US-based Zayyan Ahmed and Canada-based Shamit Shome will arrive in Dhaka on March 14 and 15 respectively, while Italy-based Fahamedul Islam and Finland-based Tariq Raihan Kazi will land on March 16.

With Singapore already through to the finals from Group C, the match has become a dead rubber for Bangladesh, who sit third with five points from five matches. The Singapore clash will also mark the end of Cabrera’s four-year contract with the BFF.