Fullback Nguyen Phong Hong Duy and halfback Pham Hoang Lam will not recover from their injuries in time to take part in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifier. — Photo zing.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Fullback Nguyen Phong Hong Duy and halfback Pham Hoang Lam will not recover from their injuries in time to take part in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifier.

The national U23 team's doctor, Hoang Nghia Duong, announced the news to the team's trainers.

Midfielder Luong Xuan Truong will also not appear because of an earlier injury.

The team has become obsessed with avoiding injury. Players such as Que Ngoc Hai, Le Duc Luong and Ho Tuan Tai trained lightly in yesterday's training session.

As planned, the Vietnamese team will meet Uzbekistan in a friendly match tomorrow.

The team's head coach Toshiya Miura will also announce the list of 23 players to compete at the 2016 AFC event before flying to Thailand to meet Thailand's U23 team on March 22.

The AFC qualifier is scheduled to be held March 23-31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There will be 43 teams competing in 10 groups. The 10 group winners and the five best runner-ups will qualify for the finals, to be held in Qatar early next year. — VNS