Kerala Blasters head coach pointed out how they have enough players to replace the injured Ruivah Hormipam in defence

Kerala Blasters are looking to get back to winning ways in the Indian Super League as they take on underwhelming SC East Bengal in the next fixture. The Yellow Army have lost their way a little in the last couple of weeks and now they need to secure a few wins to get back in the playoffs reckoning.

The inclusion of Ruivah Hormipam had allowed Ivan Vukomanovic to play three foreigners in midfield and attack as he paired Hormipam with Marco Leskovic. But with the young Indian defender getting injured, the Serbian tactician will have to resort to other plans in defence to settle the balance of the squad. He feels that they have a big enough squad to find a replacement after Homipam was rushed to the hospital suffering a nose fracture.

“We have enough players in our squad. That’s why we have a large team. Some other players will take that position. They know the position and the task. I am not worried about that, instead, I am confident about these boys. I believe that they can do the job because it has now been a while that we have been training and working together,” Vukomanovic asserted.

Speaking on players available for the game against SC East Bengal, the Serbian tactician highlighted that almost everyone from the roster is available apart from Homipam, who recently underwent surgery whereas Nishu Kumar has also joined training after coming back from injury.

“Everybody is available. Except for Hormi (Hormipam Ruivah), who was operated on with the injury. Nishu was training yesterday. We are confident for the upcoming game.”

The Serbian tactician also revealed Rahul KP’s return to the training session. He highlights how the team and the support staff needs to be very careful in dealing the youngster as he is coming back from a major injury.

“Rahul KP will participate in the training session. We will see what the reaction is. If everything is not alright, we have to be very careful with him because a stupid decision can put him out of the pitch again for a long-term. We don’t want to do that. For him, it has been a long time. His coming back must be well-organised and well-prepared,” the coach updated.

The Yellow Army are sixth in the points table and have secured 23 points from 14 matches this season. They are two points away from the playoffs spots and a win will boost their morale in making a final push for the last four.