JEFFERSON Tabinas will miss the AFF Suzuki Cup campaign of the Philippine Azkals, following his impressive debut in the World Cup qualifiers last May.
Jefferson Tabinas out due to club issue
Head coach Stewart Hall confirmed the development during the pre-match press conference although he didn’t elaborate the exact reason.
“He is not coming at all. There’s obviously problems in the Japan end. And he is not coming,” said Hall, who is working closely with Scott Cooper in the team.
The 23-year-old Tabinas is playing club football at Mito Hollyhuck, a second division squad in the Japan league. The Fil-Ghanian defender earned a spot in the initial pool after a strong showing in the joint World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers where the team placed third in the second round.
Hall, though, expressed little concern about Tabinas’ absence, saying that he is confident about the other defenders of the squad.
“We haven’t actually replaced him with a player physically coming in. We have two young center backs from the under-23 squad that are working and obviously, it’s an opportunity now for one of them. We haven’t physically replaced him but we can obviously cover him from within the squad,” said Hall.
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