KUALA LUMPUR: On paper, Malaysia should qualify for the knockout stage of the Thomas Cup in Chengdu, China, next month.
However, given the team's injury problems, it might not be so simple. Malaysia are in Group D with European champions Denmark, Hong Kong and Algeria.
With about a month to go before the world team event, men's singles Ng Tze Yong has yet to fully recover from a lower back injury.
In fact, it remains to be seen if the Johor-born shuttler will even make the Thomas Cup squad, after it was confirmed recently that he will not compete in this week's Spain Masters.
Apart from Tze Yong, Lee Zii Jia was also reported to have sustained a foot injury at the recent Swiss Open while Justin Hoh, who has slipped down to No. 205 in the world rankings, is returning to competitive action this week after being sidelined for four months.
Rashid Sidek, a member of the 1992 Thomas Cup winning squad, said things could go south if these players are not in their best shape by the next few tournaments.
"Recovery is one thing, but will these players be in their best shape during the Thomas Cup is another question.
"Tze Yong's injury looks serious, so how well will his preparation be even if he recovers in time?
"Justin will be playing in his first tournament this week (Thailand International Challenge) after being out for months, while Zii Jia is also not at his best.
"There is still time to recover, but I don't know if there is time for the players to hit top form," Rashid said.
Despite the circumstances, the Malaysian men's team did well to reach the final of the Asia Team Championships last month in Selangor.
Apart from the Spain Masters and Thailand IC this week, the Malaysians will compete in the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, on April 9-14 before the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals on April 27-May 5.
It is also learnt that BAM is looking at a centralised training camp to prepare the players for the Thomas Cup challenge.
At the 2022 edition in Bangkok, Malaysia qualified for the knockout stage as group winners, but lost 3-2 in the last eight to eventual winners India.