Illness keeps Bhutia out of action for two weeks

Baichung Bhutia will be out of action for at least two weeks due to his thyroid-related illness.

Kolkata: Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia, who returned home from the ongoing training camp in Portugal due to recurrence of his thyroid-related illness, will be out of action for at least two weeks.

The 33-year-old striker, who returned late on Saturday night, began his treatment for Thyroiditis on Monday, sources close to him said. He had suffered similar problems during his stint with East Bengal last season under coach Subhas Bhowmick and had to be hospitalised. He was then under the supervision of Dr Tirthankar Chowdhury. “During the camp in sea-side Portugal, he did not feel well and was getting tired frequently. Even taking breaks did not help. Too much of seafood might have caused his thyroid problems to recur,” sources said. “India coach Bob Houghton has ruled him out for at least two weeks and he might join the camp next month ahead of India’s friendly international matches in September,” they said.Bhutia’s national team-mates are now training at Vieria de Leiria, a small town about 200 kms from Portuguese capital of Lisbon on way to Porto as part of their preparation for the Asian Cup to be held in Doha next year.PTI