KUALA LUMPUR: Kuching City FC winger Safawi Rasid has left the Harimau Malaya training camp in China due to a family matter, leaving six Cats players still with the national squad.
According to Harimau Malaya, Safawi had to return home to attend to the family matter after travelling with the squad to China.
Safawi was one of seven Kuching City players named in the revised squad for the Tier 1 international friendlies against China on Nov 14 and Yemen on Nov 17.
The others are goalkeepers Haziq Nadzli and Haziq Aiman, defender Rodney Celvin, midfielder Ryan Lambert, forward Ramadhan Saifullah and left-back Ariff Farhan, who was called up from the standby list.
Safawi’s departure comes after six Selangor FC players – Nooa Laine, Ahmad Zikri Khalili, A. Selvan, Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman, Syahir Bashah and Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar – were ruled out through injury following their FA Cup semi-final second leg against Kuching City FC on Nov 8.
Interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe subsequently called up five players from the standby list – Terengganu FC duo Suhaimi Husin and Safwan Mazlan, Sabah FC’s Dominic Tan, Kuching City’s Ariff Farhan and Kuala Lumpur City FC’s Syafiq Ahmad.
Malaysia will face China on Nov 14 before taking on Yemen three days later.
