SLNA coaching staff continues to have headaches due to Dinh Hoang's injury

(Baonghean.vn) - SLNA's coaching staff and fans are waiting every day for the return of right-back Dinh Hoang after a long period of struggling with injury.

On the afternoon of May 9, 2017, in the friendly match between U22 Vietnam and the first division team Viettel, midfielder Tuan Anh played from the start and was on the field for about 70 minutes. Thus, after more than 4 months of treatment for a meniscus injury in his right knee, the player from Thai Binh was able to play football again.

The appearance of Tuan Anh makes many people worry about the health of player Dinh Hoang, who is currently on the payroll of SLNA Club.

Midfielder Tuan Anh played more than 70 minutes in the match between U22 Vietnam and Viettel, after a period of injury. Photo: Internet.

Having the same injury (meniscus), having surgery at Glenneagles Hospital (Singapore) like Tuan Anh, Dinh Hoang was the one who had surgery first. However, for some reason, up to this point, the defender born in 1991 is still having to practice according to a separate training program at the Nghe An team.

According to observations in SLNA's training sessions in recent days, Dinh Hoang still has to practice alone outside the track with a fairly light workload. Information shows that Dinh Hoang will most likely miss the first matches in the return leg because his health is not yet guaranteed.

Witnessing Dinh Hoang's injury recovery process, SLNA's coaching staff felt like they were 'sitting on hot coals'. The right-back position at the Nghe An team for nearly a year has always been the weakest link in the machine operated by coaches Ngo Quang Truong and Nguyen Duc Thang.

Sy Sam, Xuan Manh, The Nhat, Sy Nam were assigned to 'replace' Dinh Hoang, but none of them made SLNA's coaching staff feel secure. Therefore, the nearly 3-month break between the 2 stages of V. League 2017, more than anyone else, the leaders of the Vinh Stadium team welcomed it with the most excitement.

According to calculations, Dinh Hoang will be completely healthy before the second leg of V. League begins. Therefore, the appearance of the defender born in 1991 will greatly improve SLNA's strength in both defense and attack. Dinh Hoang's class has been proven over the years in SLNA and the Vietnam National Team.

In theory, yes, however, it is extremely difficult for a player who has been out for nearly a year due to injury to quickly regain his best form. From now until the day SLNA plays the match against Than Quang Ninh in round 14, there is only a little over a month left, I wonder if Dinh Hoang will be able to put on his shoes and go out on the field by then, let alone play excellently (?)

The problem with the right-back would not have been as serious as it is now, if the SLNA coaching staff had calculated more reasonably. Coach Ngo Quang Truong and his successor, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang, were too passive and mechanical in the case of Dinh Hoang's injury. They did not foresee the severity of the injury that Dinh Hoang suffered. Therefore, instead of seriously looking for a replacement, both Ngo Quang Truong and Nguyen Duc Thang 'patched things up' by experimenting with players playing in other positions (Sy Sam, Xuan Manh, The Nhat), and waited for Dinh Hoang to recover.

Meanwhile, Dinh Hoang is still practicing according to a separate training program and has not set a date to return to the field. Photo: Internet.

This season, with the return of right-back Sy Nam from Ho Chi Minh City Club, SLNA's coaching staff did not give the 1993-born player the proper trust to replace Dinh Hoang. From pre-season training matches to official matches in V. League 2017, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his colleagues continuously turned the right-back position upside down to experiment. After 13 matches in V. League, the 'hole' left by Dinh Hoang was the constant change between Sy Nam, Sy Sam, Xuan Manh, and The Nhat.

There were changes that made players and fans gasp. For example, in the two matches against HAGL and Ho Chi Minh City Club, Sy Nam played quite well, but when SLNA played away at Hang Day Stadium, the coaching staff pushed this player to the bench to make room for The Nhat, who had just finished serving a 5-match suspension from the VFF.

The way SLNA's coaching staff used their personnel was unreasonable and put pressure on the players. The fact that Sy Nam came on to replace The Nhat due to injury and then made a mistake that allowed Hoang Vu Samson to score the decisive goal showed that.

In short, SLNA's management board has not been wise in dealing with Dinh Hoang's injury. As a result, for nearly a year now, the right-back position at Vinh Stadium has been in a state of constant alarm. Everything now depends on Dinh Hoang's recovery process. As for how the Vietnamese national team defender performs, that is another story.

Thanh Hung