Bengaluru, Oct 14 (IANS) Indias star forward SV Sunil and midfielder Manpreet Singh, nursing injuries, were on Friday ruled out of the Asian Champions Trophy, starting on October 20 in Kuantan, Malaysia.
Sunil will now be replaced by Ramandeep Singh, while Akashdeep Singh will replace the 24-year-old Manpreet, who was also captain PR Sreejesh's deputy for this tournament.
Sunil picked up a wrist injury in the Rio Olympics during India's encounter against Canada, while Manpreet has a groin injury.
Speaking on the injuries, chief coach Roelant Oltmans said: "Manpreet's is a repeated groin injury. Though it is manageable at this stage, it should not become chronic hence we decided to keep him back here for rehabilitation. Sunil and Raghunath (drag-flicker who too is recovering from an elbow injury) will also be in SAI while the team is away in Malaysia."
"We have several options and I don't see this as a setback for us at all. We will most probably play Pardeep Mor and Akashdeep on the midfield for this tournament," Oltmans stated.
--IANS
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