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Norde to miss AFC Cup playoff qualifiers due to injury

[caption id="attachment_35395" align="alignnone" width="580"] Mohun Bagan coach Sanjay Sen with his players at the training session at club ground on Saturday. Image Source: Xtra Time[/caption] Kolkata: Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan will shift its focus to AFC Cup qualifiers now as Sanjay Sen and his team will take on Colombo FC in the forthcoming tie on January 31. The Mariners will be targeting full points against Colombo FC in the forthcoming AFC Cup qualifiers on January 31. Bagan coach Sanjay Sen will be wary about injuries to key players ahead of the tie. Leading the list is Haiti marksman Sony Norde who is suffering from a hamstring injury.  Also joining Norde are Brazilian defender Eduardo, Pranoy Halder, Kingshuk Debnath and Raju Gaekwad. The gaffer does not seem to be concerned about injuries to his players. According to Sanjay Sen, “Yes, we do have injuries to few players. But we have too big a squad to find the replacements. Subhasish Bose, Souvik Ghosh, Shehnaz Singh and Pritam Kotal – all can play in the central defence. We do not think there will be a problem with the defence.” Anas Edathodika, who had an injury concern, has recovered since. He will travel with the team. The team management is also taking Azharuddin Mullick with the team. “Last year he played well in the I League and Federation Cup. I will try and use him if I get an opportunity,” said Bagan coach Sanjay Sen about Azharuddin’s inclusion in the side. On being asked about having to keep the focus for a new tournament, Sanjay Sen said, “Yes, we had to face a similar situation last season as well. We met Tampines Rovers during I League last season. Our boys are well acquainted with the situation, as the fixtures were out long time back. Once we reach there we will be in a better position to assess the condition. But I have gathered information that the humidity is lot more compared to what we have here.” Mohun Bagan’s biggest rival in I League, Bengaluru FC suffered back to back losses against East Bengal and Churchill Brothers. The gaffer is not looking too much ahead into it. According to the gaffer, “I have earlier said that the new teams in I League will only get stronger with the passage of time. We also lost point against DSK Shivajians and can happen again in a marathon league like this. This is nothing new. We cannot afford to think about our opponents. What is important for us is we must not lose too many points.” Bagan captain Katsumi Yuasa is confident about his team’s chances against the Sri Lankan side. According to Katsumi, “We need to win both the matches to qualify for the next round. We will definitely go for a win against Colombo FC.” On being asked about the injuries to key players like Norde and Eduardo, Bagan captain echoed the same opinion as his coach. “We have lot of options in our team. So we do not need to worry about who is available or not.” Here are the following eighteen players who will be traveling to Colombo to take part in the tie against Colombo FC: SHILTON PAUL (GK), DEBJIT MAJUMDER (GK), SHIBINRAJ KUNNIYIL (GK), PRITAM KOTAL, SHOUVIK GHOSH, SUBHASISH BOSE, PRABIR DAS, BIKRAMJIT SINGH, AZAHARUDDIN MALLICK, SAUVIK CHAKRABARTI,  SEHNAJ SINGH,  BIKRAMJIT SINGH,  KATSUMI YUSA, BALWANT SINGH, KEAN LEWIS, DARRYL ALEXANDER DUFFY, JEJE LALPEKHLUA, ANAS EDATHODIKA