Injuries worry East Bengal coach

Bangalore, Jan 9 (UNI) Stung by the first round defeat in the hands of Air India in the National Football League (NFL) on Sunday, last year's runners-up East Bengal arrived here early to earnestly prepare for the tie against Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club (HASC) on Thursday.

However, injuries which had laid low three key players had been a big concern, coach Carlos Roberto Periera De Silva said today.

Kolkata side arrived here yesterday directly from Mumbai and the coach put the team through a long practice session at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here today.

Speaking to UNI, De Silva said the team had failed to create enough scoring opportunities against Air India and he wanted to ensure that they did not repeat the same mistakes.

He said defenders Gurpreet Singh, Saumik Dey and striker Ashim Biswas could not take the field today due to injury concerns. ''I am hoping that they would be fit by the time of the match. The good news is that our frontline defenders Muthath Suresh and Komal Lawrence have fully recovered from their injuries,'' he said.

He said he expected good show by HASC but his team's target was to score full points from the match.

UNI