Defender Topu Barman was delighted to return to national team training Thursday after missing out on competitive action for eight and a half months due to Anterior Cruciate Ligament surgery on his left knee.
The Bashundhara Kings center-back was at Abahani Limited when he suffered the injury during practice and couldn’t play any game for the national team since Bangladesh’s 1-0 away win over Cambodia on March 9 in 2019.
“I’m very happy to be back because I worked hard to get back to the club and the national team. I played three matches in the Federation Cup and felt like I was in my old form. I will try to raise my standard with hard work,” said the 25-year old, who scored a goal against Police Football Club in the semi-final.
The absence of Topu in defence was not felt much as his replacements like Riyadul Hasan Rafi and Tutul Hossain Badshah performed well during the tough World Cup qualifiers.
The national football camp began in the absence of coach Jamie Day, captain Jamal Bhuiyan and the nine players of Bashundhara Kings, ahead of the six-nation Bangabandhu Gold Cup, scheduled to kick off at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka next weekhttps://t.co/JcADKPBSIe#BFF
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 8, 2020
“They performed well in my absence. Everybody wants to prove their worth. I also have to prove myself to play for the national team and I’m ready for it,” said Topu.
“The team are in better shape than the 2018 edition where we fought well against Palestine. We played well during the World Cup qualifiers so I’m hopeful of a good result against them in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup opener,” added Topu.
The return of Topu gave Jamie Day more options at the back.
The English head coach said, “It’s good to see Topu back. He is been out for a long time and played a lot of matches in a short space of time. We need to monitor him so that he doesn’t get injured again.”