Sandesh Jhingan gets injured in India’s friendly with NorthEast United FC

10/10/2019

The Indian football team might just have been dealt the biggest blow ahead of their third FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Bangladesh as veteran defender Sandesh Jhingan was seen limping off in the second half. The Blue Tigers just managed a draw against the ISL club in Guwahati.

It was a preparatory match for the national team who are scheduled to play their WC qualifier group stage match against Bangladesh on October 15. And while Sunil Chhetri did well to give his side the lead in the 34th minute, NEUFC’s new striker Asamoah Gyan brought parity ten minutes later at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

With both compatriots, Igor Stimac and Robert Jarni, managing their respective teams on each end, the result looked quite fair given the effort put in by both the sides, as the match ended 1-1. However, the biggest concern has been the injury to center-half Jhingan.

The experienced enforcer, alongside Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, was one of the main players for India in their grueling draw away at Qatar in their last qualifiers match. After the first-half ended 1-1, coach Stimac was seen making numerous changes, bringing in as many as 11 new faces. One of those substitutions was forced, which saw defender Sandesh Jhingan limping off around the 10th minute after he was seen holding his ankle following a tackle.

India would now fly to Kolkata to face Bangladesh at the Salt Lake stadium on October 15, Tuesday.