THE way things are, national coach Tan Cheng Hoe won't get what he wants for Malaysia's pre-World Cup campaign.
Some of the players that he had wanted to be part of his plans, are suddenly not available.
Injuries, often the bane of the best-laid plans of coaches worldwide, are rearing their ugly heads.
Cheng Hoe found out that Terengganu FC goalkeeper Rahadiazli Rahalim has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury days after attending national training in Johor Baru recently.
And earlier it was Selangor midfielder Halim Saari who came down with a similar ACL injury.
Cheng Hoe said while Rahadiazli has good potential, Halim has been one of the regulars.
"This has affected team's preparations as our player options are getting fewer," he said.
During Cheng Hoe's one-week training camp in Johor Baru, he was also without Mohamadou Sumareh and Safawi Rasid, both sidelined with injuries.
He didn't call Liridon Krasniqi (with Newcastle Jets, Australia), Junior Eldstal (Chonburi FC, Thailand) and Dominic Tan (Police Tero FC, Thailand) as they were abroad.
The Covid quarantine due to travel was not feasible for them to attend the training camp.
Cheng Hoe said he was aware of the backlash from netizens for ending the nine-day training camp two days earlier but stressed that the players needed the rest.
"We know there are negative comments but we look at it from the players' perspective.
"Coming in after five league games, you can see that they are lethargic, tired. They have been pushing themselves hard in the league."
Cheng Hoe disclosed that he planned for the next national training camp to start on May 16, three days after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
The coach said he hopes the national team get to play international friendlies against Bahrain, Australia and Jordan before the pre-World Cup in Dubai in June.
Harimau Malaya are set to play hosts the United Arab Emirates (June 3), Vietnam (June 11) and Thailand (June 15) in their remaining World Cup qualifiers.