Football
Sandesh Jhingan set to undergo surgery, likely to miss India's WC qualifiers vs Kuwait in June
The surgery will rule him out for India's important FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June. India is scheduled to play Kuwait on June 6.
Sandesh Jhingan suffered a knee injury at the AFC Asian Cup in January. (Image Via AIFF)
India and FC Goa defender Sandesh Jhingan is set to miss the remainder of the season due to the injury he sustained during India's AFC Asian Cup final group B match against Syria on January 23.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Jhingan will undergo an ACL reconstruction surgery. The surgery will also rule him out for India's important FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June. India is scheduled to play Kuwait on June 6. A positive outcome in this match will determine India's prospect of qualifying for the third round of qualifiers for the first time.
In the match against Syria, Jhingan fell badly after blocking Syrian forward Pablo Sabbag from retrieving the ball.
Despite being in discomfort, Jhingan continued to play till half-time. However, he could not complete the match after he collapsed early in the second half. Jhingan has been out of competitive football since then.
Incidentally, the Indian team did not issue any official update on Jhingan's injury. His club FC Goa also abstained from releasing any update on the defender's fitness. The ISL club, in the meantime, signed Nim Dorjee on January 31 as Jhingan's replacement.
After sustaining the injury, Jhingan reportedly consulted a doctor in Belgrade who suggested complete rest to him.
This is the second time Jhingan suffered an ACL injury in his career. In October 2019, he suffered the first ACL that ruled him out of the 2019-20 season.
