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East Bengal's back-up custodian Naveen Kumar has been ruled out for the rest of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season with a knee injury, the club revealed on Monday.
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The 33-year-old joined the Red and Gold Brigade during the summer transfer window on a year-long loan from FC Goa.
Having joined the Gaurs in January 2019, Naveen won the Durand Cup last year. Previously, he also won the Super Cup and ISL League Winners’ Shield.
With Kamaljit Singh being the first-choice keeper for the Red and Gold, Naveen hadn't made even a single appearance for the club.
Veteran shot-stopper Suvam Sen joins East Bengal
Replacing the injured Naveem Kumar in the East Bengal squad will be Suvam Sen, who previously represented the Red & Gold Brigade in the last two editions of the ISL.
The 32-year-old is an established customer in the Indian footballing circuit, playing for clubs like Mohammedan SC, Calcutta Customs, Bhawanipore FC, and United SC.
In his debut ISL season, Suvam played five matches and kept two clean sheets. With the new addition, the club's goalkeeping options for the season are Kamaljit, Pawan Kumar and Suvam.
Kolkata derby brings East Bengal's goalkeeping woes to the forefront
In the grand fixture of ISL's Matchweek 4, East Bengal suffered a 2-0 defeat against arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan. Although Stephen Constantine's men stuck to their plans for almost an hour, all their efforts were tarnished after a horror-show from Kamaljit Singh.
In the 56th minute, Hugo Boumous dropped deep to free himself from his marker and then skipped past a couple of defenders before unleashing a tame long-range effort. But to the shock of everyone, Kamaljit deflected the shot into the back of his own net.
Earlier in the clash against FC Goa, the former Odisha FC custodian misjudged a long-range freekick from Edu Bedia and ended up conceding a late winner. Although it's still early days of the season, these errors could ultimately cost the Red and Gold a spot in the top six.
