Azkals lose Ott to injury

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The Philippines suffered another blow in its bid for 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification after top midfielder Manny Ott was ruled out for the next two games due to a knee injury.

Already missing key players, including Misagh Bahadoran, Amani Aguinaldo and Javier Patiño, the Azkals saw the injured list grow on Thursday in training camp in Doha, Qatar, where Ott sustained a medial cruciate ligament injury that will sideline the Ceres-Negros star for six weeks.

Got the news from the doc in Qatar that I’ll be out for 6 weeks with an MCL ⛑ #comebackstronger pic.twitter.com/5LFkgt6HIZ

— Manny Ott (@MannyOtt) October 6, 2017

Ott, who suffered the injury after a collision with Harry Foll in training, will miss the crucial match against Yemen on Tuesday and will most likely be unavailable for the duel with Nepal in Kathmandu on Nov. 14.

“It’s unfortunate that I can’t be there for the team,” said Ott. “I have to focus on recovery now as there are still important matches ahead.”