NS Manju took the Lebanese left flank by surprise on Wednesday,making surging runs from his position at left-back and making his presence felt. Halfway through the match though,his tournament was over,with a hairline fracture on his left foot ruling him out for at least five weeks. Manjus absence will not help Indias cause,giving coach Bob Houghton a few more headaches. What it has done,though,is bring into focus the shoddy quality of the Ambedkar Stadium turf. Im sure it wasnt because of a tackle, Manju told The Indian Express on Thursday. I was about to turn towards the ball when I felt some uneasiness in my left foot. Im not sure what the reason was, he said. A few of his team mates,however,felt the poor outfield could have played a part. It was extremely uneven and quite dangerous to play on, a team mate said,pointing out that there was no rival defender close to Manju when he got injured. Not conducive After the match,both coaches Houghton and Emil Roustom had complained about the length of the grass,saying it wasnt conducive to a short-passing game. One player felt the grass was left at that length to hide the condition of the surface. The organisers said that Independence Day celebrations could have had an impact on the ground. Weve tried to provide the best possible surface,which wasnt in very good shape after the Independence Day celebrations. We did try and patch it up to the best of our abilities,and didnt know that the players were unhappy, said Rishi Raj,the Ambedkar Stadium field in-charge. Manju has been unlucky with injuries,having missed out on most of the SAFF Cup and all of the AFC Challenge Cup last year. This fracture means the Mohun Bagan defender will miss the IFA Shield,the Durand Cup and at least the first couple of rounds of the Kolkata League. Its a hairline fracture but I have been advised five weeks rest, Manju said. I missed out on two big tournaments due to injury and was looking forward to make an impact here. Im extremely disappointed.
