HANOI – Juani Guirado ruled himself out of the remainder of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 group stages after hurting his hamstring but is keeping his fingers crossed he can come back for the semifinals.
The veteran centerback played the first 15 minutes of the Azkals’ semis-clinching 4-0 win over Indonesia Tuesday and was relieved by Rob Gier.
“I raced and tried to sprint but started feeling pain on my hamstring. In this moment I can’t run. We’ll have to get checked in the hospital and get treatment,” said Guirado, who will cheer for the team when it plays Vietnam in the last game of Group A.
Guirado could be out for two to three weeks. The semis is slated Dec. 6 and 7 for the first leg and Dec. 10 and 11 for the second leg
Gier, youthful Amani Aguinaldo, and new recruit Alvaro Silva, who expects to acquire his Phl passport by end of this week, could fill in with Guirado out.
“I can say we have the best defense, also maybe Alvaro if he’s available for the semifinals will be a big help. You saw today how Rob is always ready, going hard and scoring a goal. We have a lot of good players but I’ll try to come back,” Guirado said.