India sweating over Abhishek’s injury ahead of Asian Champions Trophy semi-final

India coach Craig Fulton has admitted there are concerns about Abhishek’s injury heading into the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy. Fulton said that Abhishek’s case is touchy at the moment and they will have to be patient with him.

India cruised to a fantastic 4-2 win against Malaysia on Sunday, November 1, but the only negative point in the game came when the 27-year-old forward was forced off the field after twisting his ankle. India captain Harmanpreet Singh expected Abhishek to make a swift comeback and Fulton also echoed the same sentiments.

ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY: FULL REPORT

Subsequently, he was not part of it India’s 8-0 win over Korea on Monday, November 2. Abhishek was seen with the side after the win as the Indian team bid farewell to Jalandhar and traveled to Mohali to face Korea again in the semi-finals on Wednesday, November 4.

While many felt that him not playing on Monday was a precautionary measure, it appears that the problem is much more serious. Speaking to India Today after the win, Fulton said he will reassess the striker on Tuesday and see if he can be part of the rest of the tournament.

“We’ll see tomorrow. We’ll wait and see tomorrow night,” Fulton said.

Fulton admitted that losing Abhishek will not be ideal and it is now all about waiting to play the striker in terms of his recovery.

“If you lose any player, it’s not ideal. We just have to wait and be patient. We’ll see what the medical staff says,” Fulton said.

Abhishek was instrumental in India’s winning campaign during the ACT, scoring three goals in the three matches he played.

NO SECOND QUARTER FEELINGS

While India secured a stunning win on Monday, the trend continued in the second quarter where the team eased up a bit. India came under pressure and conceded six penalty corners.

Against Malaysia, it was in the second 15th minute that the team conceded the equaliser. However, Fulton brushed off concerns, pointing to how his team started games well and regained momentum in the third quarter.

“More importantly, we came back strong in the third quarter after halftime and played our best hockey. Overall, our second half was better than the first. We started well, the first and third quarters were very good, and we finished well in the fourth,” Fulton said.

India finished the ACT league stage with five wins from as many matches, scoring a total of 34 goals and conceding only five.

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