Doha, Qatar—The Philippine Azkals’ bid to extract the full points against Yemen on Tuesday took a major blow after veteran midfielder Manny Ott suffered an MCL injury on his right knee.
Ott will need at least six weeks to recover from the injury. As expected Ott couldn’t hide his frustrations just days before the return match between the two countries in the group stage of the AFC 2019 Asian Cup qualifying tournament.
“I’m still trying to accept the fact the injury happened and try really not to get affected,” Ott said. “It is hard to see everyone training and you are sitting out.”
Ott suffered the injury during a routine 3 on 2 training the Azkals had two days ago.
“Harry (Foll) tried to go behind me. When he turned around he bumped into me. He hit me on the wrong spot,” Ott recounted.
Despite the injury, the soft-spoken midfielder remains upbeat on the Azkals’ chances against Yemen on Tuesday. Just like his take on his injury.
“I’ll focus on my recovery and try to get back as fast as I can,” he added.
By Erel Cabatbat