GUANGZHOU, China: Qatar’s Lekhwiya yesterday arrived in China for the first-leg of their AFC Champions League (ACL) quarter-final against Guangzhou Evergrande tomorrow.
Lekhiwya’s Belgian coach Eric Gerets (pictured), who was pleased with the team’s qualification to the last-eight of ACL, put the squad through a rigorous training camp held outside the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur recently .
The team played a friendly against Selangor of Malaysia which ended in a draw.
Gerets said all players are upbeat and looking to raise the bar in the key clash.
Algerian Majid Bougherra and Tunisian Youssef Msakni looked in peak condition in training while Senegal’s Issiar is under rehab, undergoing therapy session on medical advise, Gerets said.
Meanwhile, Lekhwiya will miss the services of striker Ali Afif and Nasser Khalfan in the first leg due to injuries.
The duo have not properly recovered from the injuries sustained in the club’s pre-season, for the clash against Guangzhou, who are managed by former Juventus and the Italian 2006 World Cup winning-coach Marcelo Lippi.
Goalkeeper Baba Malek will miss the match through a shoulder injury.
The return clash will take place in four weeks time on September 18 in Doha.
Lekhwiya’s squad: Amine Claud Lecomt, Ahmed Hatami, Khalifa Al Amari, Mohammed Musa, Tresor Kangambu, Khaled Muftah, Adel Lamy Khaled, Dame Traore, Majid Bougherra, Kareem Bodhiaf, Hussain Shihab, Luiz Martin, Issiar Dia, Nam Taehee, Talal Al Qahtani, Nasser Khalfan, Ali Mohammed, Abdulaziz Abdullah, Youssef Msakni, Adel Ahmed, Ismaeel Mohammad, Sebastian Soria, Adel Habib and Lassina Diaby.
THE PENINSULA
