Injured striker to miss World Cup qualifiers

The Vietnam Football Federation initially said that Chinh had a small tear in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of his right knee; that it required no surgery and only needed a month to recover from.

However, on Wednesday, after further diagnosis and scanning, the national team said Chinh's injury is worse than thought at first. After a collision in the first half of the AFF Cup second leg semifinals on Sunday, Chinh couldn't continue playing and was subbed out in the second half. Now, it has been revealed that the 24-year-old's ACL is completely torn.

With such a severe injury, Chinh will be out of action for at least six months. Another examination will decide whether he needs surgery or not, the VFF said.

Chinh is the latest name on the list of Vietnam players with ACL injuries. Key players like Vu Van Thanh, Phan Van Duc and Tran Dinh Trong have also struggled with ACL injuries and taken a long time to recover and return to the football field.

National coach Park Hang-seo will have to call up other strikers to prepare for the next World Cup qualifier games against Australia and China in January and February.