KARACHI, April 13: The soccer managers continue their apathetic ways as under-20 camp runs without a doctor while Pakistan prepare for the Asian championship group V qualifiers with four key probables on the injury list.
Mohammad Ashfaq, Adeel are nursing hamstring injuries, while Shakir has a bruised calf, and Asadullah is suffering from knee ligament problem.
The present situation clearly shows how the football affairs in the country are being handled.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has little interest what’s happening at the camp, while Pakistan are slated to face Maldives in the opener barely after 11 days.
The camp setup in Islamabad for April 25 to 29 contest in Karachi since March 26 is being conducted by coach John Layton without a doctor and a permanent physiotherapist.
Although the four injured players are being treated on day-to-day basis by a physio arranged by coach, neither is there a doctor nor a permanent qualified physio at the camp where about 80 boys were called.
Layton said it was imperative that all four recover before the event since there was a huge possibility they would be in the 20-member squad.
The coach has shorlisted the trainees to 25 and said he might announce the 20-man squad a day before the tournament.
“The four boys are now being treated by a qualified physio but what I am suppose to do in case of an injury at the camp where more than 90 boys are training.
“I would prefer a permanent and qualified physio rather a doctor. A lot of work still has to be done as Mohammad Essa joined the camp on April 10 and Adeel came Friday,” coach said from Islamabad Saturday.
Besides the four players, couple of under-17 trainees are also injured while two or three are ill at the camp where some 68 youngsters are being trained for under-17 Asian qualifying round from May 13 in Tajikistan.
The British coach, who has been assigned to train the junior sides, is running the two camps in Islamabad simultaneously.
The Englishman avoided to make tall claims about the prospects of Pakistan team for the under-20 qualifiers, saying three weeks for training and grooming were insufficient.
“The senior team that toured Sri Lanka recently and were even beaten by hosts under-20 side prepared for full eight weeks for friendlies, while I have just three weeks for Asian qualifying round,” he said.