Balwant Singh suffers injury at the Mohun Bagan practice session

BALWANT SINGH, who spent the better part of the last year trying hard to recover from an injury that kept him out of action for a long time, suffered a major setback this morning when he got injured again during the practice session.

The Mohun Bagan forward, whose 2015-16 season was marred by a nasty hamstring injury, spent the final months of 2016 getting treatment and doing recovery sessions under club physical trainer Djair Miranda Garcia. He was set to make a comeback in the I-League 2016-17 season.

But this morning, as Bagan players were practicing, Balwant Singh got injured again, and could not continue playing. He had trouble standing up and walking, and had to be supported on his way out of the pitch by his teammates.

While this is too early to tell, word on the Maidan is that while initially it was feared that Balwant had done his hamstring in again, what he has suffered is a knee jerk or an ankle injury which is expected to be not as serious, and a quick recovery is possible.

But whether or not he will be available for selection on Sunday's I-League campaign opener match against Churchill Brothers remains to be seen.

When head coach Sanjoy Sen was asked by reporters about the injury, he said,

"At first glance it doesn't seem too deep or serious. But I'm not a doctor. We have a check-up scheduled at 12:20 pm, we will know for sure when we get the reports in."

UPDATE: A medical check-up was conducted on Balwant Singh's injury as planned, and sources in the club have told TFG that the injury is not that serious. The player is no longer feeling pain like before, and he has been given some medication. His chances for playing on Sunday against Churchill Brothers, while still not a sure thing, are higher than originally thought.
 

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