Knee injury rules Anthony Pereira out of Asian Cup football

New Delhi: Indian football team`s Asian Cup preparations suffered a big jolt with key winger Anthony

Pereira ruled out of next month`s continental showpiece due to a knee ligament tear. The nippy player, who can play on both left and right wing according to match situation, will return to his hometown Goa tomorrow from Dubai where the national team has been training since early last month in the tune-up to the January 7-29 meet in Doha. "In-form India international winger Anthony Pereira suffered an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear during a training session and has been ruled out of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 in Qatar," a release from the All India Football Federation said. Officials of Pereira`s club, Dempo, told PTI that the injury is serious and he is also likely to miss I-League matches for the whole of January. "It is a serious injury and we don`t know how long it will take for Pereira to recover. But it seems he will not be able to play I-League matches for long. He will be out at least for January," a Dempo official said from Goa. Pereira has been a vital cog in coach Bob Houghton`s scheme of things. He has been a standout performer in India`s recent international friendlies, with his raw pace creating problems for opposition defenders. He was voted the fittest player in domestic circuit in September at the Football Players` Association of India awards. Houghton`s side is grappling with injury worries with at least half a dozen players, including skipper Bhaichung Bhutia, on the casualty list. Striker Mohammad Rafi had a muscle pull this morning while Baljeet Singh suffered a wrist injury during practice yesterday but according to team sources, it is "not so serious". Central midfielder N P Pradeep and another winger Steven Dias, too, have been struggling with injuries. The good news, however, is that the experienced Renedy Singh, injured for a long time now, has started training, and so did Rakesh Masih. Bhutia and Sameer Naik, who had gone to Chennai to get their calf muscle injuries treated by sports medicine expert Kanan Pugazhendi, have joined the team and are expected to resume training in the next three-four days. India are scheduled to play Syria in an international friendly on December 26 in Dubai. PTI