Phl walking wounded but its bench is deep

MALE – The Philippine Azkals may be a “walking wounded” side in the final push for the AFC Asian Cup crown but no worries, insisted coach Thomas Dooley and skipper Rob Gier.

Neil Etheridge, who hurt his quadriceps during the Phl-Afghanistan firsture, and defender Juani Guirado, who limped out of the game against Laos due to a knee injury, are doubtful starters against Turkmenistan, and possibly the rest of the tourney if the Azkals progress.

But with a deep bench, Dooley had the luxury of tapping replacements without giving up quality.

“It’s something we have to deal with and see what we have and we have great players on the bench who can come in and do the same job,” Dooley said.

“We’ll be fine,” said Gier for his part. “Whoever comes in in the next couple of days will be top quality players, so we’ll be fine.”

Gier said he’d miss Guirado at the backline the most.

“I think the partnership that me and Juani have is one of the strings to the side. He’s gonna be a big miss. We work well together because he’s left-footed as well, balances the back four out nicely. But you know, whoever comes in, that’s one thing we got now, we’ve a squad of players where the level doesn’t drop if people got injured or suspended,” he said.

Etheridge is doubtful as well after reinjuring the quad that’s been nagging him the past season at the Premier League.

“Roland (Muller) is here; Patrick (Deyto) is here so we’ll focus on the two of them,” Dooley said of their keepers.