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Midfielder Tuấn Anh gets his first chance to attend AFF Cup

HÀ NỘI — Talented midfielder Nguyễn Tuấn Anh is likely to have his first opportunity with the Vietnamese national team to play in the AFF Cup  二0 二0.

Anh’s knee injuries have deprived him of the opportunity to play at two previous AFF Cup tournaments in  二0 一 六 and  二0 一 八. If Anh can return to full fitness, he may well shine at the event in Singapore from December  五,  二0 二 一 to January  一,  二0 二 二.

Among the players of the first generation of Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Academy, Anh seems to be the most unlucky because a long-lasting injury caused him to miss many opportunities to participate in some important tournaments for the Vietnamese team. Favourite players of HAGL such as Nguyễn Công Phượng, Nguyễn Văn Toàn, Lương Xuân Trường, Vũ Văn Thanh have all played in both the AFF Cup  二0 一 六 and then the triumphant side that won the AFF Cup in  二0 一 八, while Anh missed out.

Five years ago, coach Nguyễn Hữu Thắng wished Anh could recover from his knee injury in time to attend the  二0 一 六 AFF Cup. Thắng even brought Anh to Myanmar, the hosts of the Cup, in the hope he could feature in the last minutes. 

In early  二0 一 八, another injury ruled Anh out of the U 二 三 Việt Nam side that won the AFC U 二 三 Championship  二0 一 八. Bad luck continued to follow him.

At the beginning of the  二0 一 八 V.League  一 season, he suffered a knee injury in the match between HAGL and Hải Phòng so his hopes of appearing at  the Asian Games  二0 一 八 and then AFF Cup  二0 一 八 were dashed.

Tuấn Anh is the player with the most injuries in Vietnamese football. His legs have even earned the nickname "crystal"大众because he appears so fragile.

After a long period on the treatment table, in September  二0 一 九, he returned to the Vietnamese national team and played very impressively in the second qualifying round of the World Cup  二0 二 二.

At the third qualifying round of the  二0 二 二 World Cup, fitness is still Anh's biggest problem, but now, ahead of the  二0 二0 AFF Cup, he is in good shape. It will not be surprising if he is selected to attend the AFF Cup for the first time in his career. VNS