Singapore football captain Shahril Ishak and striker Khairul Amri are set to make their comebacks from injury in Friday's international friendly match against Hong Kong.
Johor Darul Takzim II playmaker Shahril (torn hamstring) and LionsXII forward Amri (fractured cheekbone), key players for the Lions in their Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup triumph two years ago, have been sidelined since August during the Malaysia Cup group phase.
While national coach Bernd Stange said the duo would not be risked for the full match against Hong Kong, the German would still give them some playing time.
"We're happy to have the two of them back," said Stange, 66."Both of them will get maybe 30 to 45 minutes... as it is important for them to chalk up some game time (ahead of next month's Suzuki Cup campaign)."
Said attacking midfielder Shahril, 30: "I've been out for a month and my fitness isn't at the level I want it to be so I want to build on it, starting tonight against Hong Kong."
The two key men are vital for the Lions' Suzuki Cup defence. Shahril (11 goals in 112 caps) and Amri (19 goals in 84 caps) are the leading scorers of the current national side. The next highest scorer is Home United's Fazrul Nawaz with seven goals from 66 games.
Another player who may also make a comeback on the international scene is Khairul Nizam.
The LionsXII striker, whose five caps came under previous coach Raddy Avramovic, played just four times in an injury-ravaged season this year. But Stange was impressed enough to pick the bustling forward who offers an aerial presence and hard running.
"It's also good to have Nizam back as he can be a shining talent for Singapore football, provided he can get over his injury problems," the Singapore coach said.
"The S-League goalscoring chart shows that there are not many local strikers who can help take Singapore football to the next level so we will work with who we have now."
Fazrul (10 goals) is the only Singaporean among the top-10 S-League goalscorers this season. Brunei DPMM's Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Antonio Tosi leads the chart with 22.
For Stange, the most important objective for tonight's game is to get a winning momentum going before the Lions face Malaysia, Thailand and a team from the qualifiers in the Suzuki Cup group stage next month.
In the Lions' last two international outings, they lost 1-3 to Jordan and Oman in the Asian Cup qualifiers. They will also meet Macau on Tuesday, Oct. 14 for a friendly.
"It will not be an easy game against Hong Kong who beat us 1-0 last year and will want a good result again," said Stange.
"But we've come a long way since then. We have (gained experience) by playing top teams like Dinamo Moscow and Juventus so I'm hoping we build on that with a good performance."
Added skipper Shahril: "It is important to get a win as it brings about confidence and that will serve us well for the Suzuki Cup."
This article first appeared in The Straits Times in Singapore.