National head coach Tan Cheng Hoe is keeping his fingers crossed that the first round of the Super League will end this Sunday without news of crippling injuries.
On Wednesday, the Super League saw two worrying casualties — Selangor's Shahrel Fikri Fauzi and Perak captain Shahrul Saad were both taken off the pitch in their respective matches.
Shahrel, who was Malaysia's top goalscorer with four goals in the pre-World Cup first round, is out for six to 10 weeks due to a fibula fracture.
This means the 26-year-old will miss Malaysia's three pre-World Cup matches next month in Dubai.
Cheng Hoe admitted that Shahrel's injury is a big blow to the Harimau Malaya squad.
The coach said in the absence of Shahrel, he will have to work with Guilherme de Paula, Syafiq Ahmad, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha to form a punchy frontline.
"We have one more round to go in the Super League. Hopefully, all will be injury-free. But in football, these are the kinds of things that can't be controlled."
It is learnt that the list of players for national training, beginning on May 16, will be released either today or tomorrow.