Football: S'pore winger Hafiz Nor has Covid-19; Hariss Harun returns to training
SINGAPORE – Lions winger Hafiz Nor has become the second national footballer to test positive for Covid-19 in a month when the team are preparing for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a statement on Sunday (Nov 21) that the 33-year-old Lion City Sailors player had tested positive after undergoing a polymerase chain reaction test on Friday (Nov 19).
On Nov 11, the FAS announced that Hafiz would not be joining the Lions for a Nov 8-17 training camp in Dubai after he was issued a health risk warning as a member of his household was a coronavirus case on isolation order.
Hafiz has been a regular in the national team since Tatsuma Yoshida took over in May 2019, and scored the winning goal in the Lions’ 2-1 World Cup qualifier victory over Yemen in Bahrain in November 2019. That remains his only goal in eight international appearances.
Meanwhile, national skipper Hariss Harun has been cleared to return to Lions training “after undergoing cardiopulmonary screening tests to rule out any myocarditis,” said the FAS.
The 31-year-old, who also plays for the Sailors and has 101 caps and 10 goals for Singapore, had tested positive for Covid-19 on Nov 3 and also missed out on the Dubai trip.
The FAS said it will continue to “take all necessary measures to ensure that the health and safety of the national team are prioritised” as they prepare for the AFF Championship that Singapore will host from Dec 5 to Jan 1.
The Lions are in Group A and will face Myanmar (Dec 5), Philippines (Dec 8), Timor Leste (Dec 14) and Thailand (Dec 18) at the National Stadium.
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