KUALA LUMPUR: Influential defender Syafiq Hassan has been ruled out of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Chennai, by a knee injury suffered in the match against India on Sunday.
He will be replaced by Najib Abu Hassan.
Although Malaysia have secured a place in the semi-finals, they will face a tough encounter against defending champions South Korea tomorrow at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.
Malaysia are second in the six- nation standings with three wins and one defeat. Malaysia beat Pakistan 3-1 and China 5-1 before getting hammered 5-0 by host India but bounced back to beat Japan 3-1.
South Korea have one win, two draws and one defeat.
The Koreans who play a fast attacking game, are known for their never say die attitude.
Against India, the Koreans were trailing 3-1 and despite losing their captain and penalty corner specialist Jang Jong Hyun in the fourth quarter to injury, they fought back to score a penalty corner goal in the dying minutes through Yang Ji Hun before losing 3-2.
For Arul Selvaraj's men, the match against Korea is important to know their strengths and weaknesses in preparation for next month's Hangzhou Asian Games.
Coach Arul Selvaraj said they will use the one-day break to do a post- mortem of their 5-0 defeat to India.
"We will be well prepared to face the Koreans tomorrow," said Arul.
Korea have a good track record against Malaysia.
Malaysia have played Korea 30 times since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning nine times, drawing five and losing 16.
Malaysia twice played the Koreans in the Nations Cup in South Africa last December and lost both matches (1-0) in group stage and (4-0) for third placing.
Malaysia last beat Korea 3-2 in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh last November.