New Delhi, June 30: India will field a heavily depleted side for their tour to Portugal to play a set of three friendly matches. Midfielder Steven Dias, goalkeeper Sandeep Nandy and defenders NS Manju and Surkumar Singh have all been ruled out and are in danger of even missing out on the AFC Challenge Cup scheduled to be played in Hyderabad later this month.

Coach Bob Houghton on Monday admitted: “The absence of these four players is a huge blow for the team. Their experience would have come in handy for our matches against Portuguese clubs. I am hoping that they will be fit before July 22 for the friendly against Malaysia at home, failing which they cannot be picked for the AFC Cup,” he said, after winding up the seventh day of the national camp at the Dr Ambedkar Stadium.

Bhutia back in training

However, the good news is that Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia, who was also in the injured list, trained for the third straight day, though with lesser intensity. Fellow striker Renedy Singh and midfielder K Ajayan Nair have shown signs of recovery and will make the trip to Portugal.

“I hope Renedy will recover completely from the thigh injury and be more effective and quicker up front when he plays in Portugal. Ajayan has also shown signs of improvement,” Houghton added.

The Indian coach reiterated that these friendly matches would provide good practice ahead of India’s next big assignment — the AFC Challenge Cup. “Match practice is vital. The team is going abroad to play as there are no quality sides with whom the national team can play practice matches at home. Also, it is easier to go abroad and play as the team gets more exposure by playing with foreign clubs to raise the standard of the game,” the Englishman added.