ALOR STAR: The Kedah Under-23 squad are expected to shoulder the responsibility of playing Kuala Lumpur City FC in their Super League match this Saturday (Sept 14).
Kedah head coach Nafuzi Zain said this is because their senior team players have not attended training over the past few days.
"The under-23 squad will be the ones playing against KL City. Preparations and training began last Tuesday ... but we don't know what will happen in the remaining two days before the match.
"With such a short preparation and training period, we will accept whatever the outcome. We can't predict anything since some of them have just returned from a break after participating in the Malaysia Games and are only now starting to train again," he told the media here yesterday (Sept 11).
He was met during a friendly match between the Kedah Under-23 squad and the Kedah Sultans' Gold Cup team at the Muda Agricultural Development Authority football field.
Nafuzi said the friendly match allowed the coaching staff to assess and identify suitable under-23 players for the KL City match.
"As for the senior squad, everyone is already aware of the current situation ... I just hope it can be resolved as soon as possible because the impact on the Kedah team is immense," he said.
Previously, the media reported that none of the Kedah senior squad players had attended training sessions so far, and it is understood that the issue involves salary arrears that have plagued the team for the past few months.
Several players have also expressed their frustration on social media after facing financial difficulties that have left them burdened and unable to attend training.