Dubai: Azkals vice-captain ‘Chieffy' Caligdong winced and gasped for air as he performed light exercises on the first day of the Philippine football team's training camp in Dubai on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who suffered a knee injury during a United Football League match on January 28 in Manila and was earlier ruled out of the Azkals' ten-day Middle East tour, was given the green light to join his teammates after passing a fitness test last Friday.
"I'm joining the team in exercises, but it's sad. It's my first time to go abroad and not be playing with the Azkals," Caligdong said at a press conference before the team headed for their first workout at the Al Maktoum Stadium practice pitch.
Doctors attending to Caligdong earlier feared the footballer suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but an MRI scan on his left knee showed no signs of the injury.
"I'm hoping to recover as soon as possible. It's my first time to sustain an injury in my knee and I was told it would take two to three weeks for me to regain my normal movement," he told Gulf News on the sidelines of the Azkals' training session.
Caligdong revealed that he sustained three injuries on his left knee — an LCL (lateral collateral ligament), an MCL (medial collateral ligament) and a partial ACL.
The footballer from Iloilo province in central Philippines added that this is his fourth time to visit Dubai.
Toughen up
"It's nice to be back here. This is actually my fourth visit. My first time here was when I played in the beach football World Cup," he said, and quickly added the Azkals are not on holiday. "We're not on vacation. We are here to toughen up for the tough Challenge Cup in Nepal next month."
The Azkals, led by coach Michael Weiss, arrived in Dubai on Tuesday after an eight-hour direct flight from Manila. The team is to hold three training sessions before going up against the Uzbekistan under-23 team in a friendly match tomorrow at the Al Nasr Sports Club's Al Maktoum Stadium.
Matches
Get your tickets
Tickets for the Dubai matches are available from selected Giordano, Orlando Sports and Virgin Megastores in Dubai and across the UAE. There are three price categories for the UAE games — category B tickets cost Dh50, category A Dh75 and VIP Dh165.
The tour is being organised by leading sports marketing agency Mediapro Middle East.
— A.P.G
