Caligdong joins Azkals in Dubai stint

BY BONG PEDRALVEZ

IMINUTIVE midfielder Chieffy Caligdong will join the Philippine Azkals to their Middle East training camp, after all.

Caligdong was given the go-signal to leave with his teammates for Dubai today by Dr. Randy Molo who conducted a fitness test on the 29-year-old booter at the Moro Lorenzo gym of the Ateneo de Manila University campus last Friday.

"We had Chieffy undergo squat and hop drills, and he was not in much pain compared to when we last examined him," said Molo. "He’s cleared to join the Azkals to Dubai."

He added a second magnetic resonance imaging scan of Caligdong’s battered left knee showed no signs of a torn anterior cruciate ligament as earlier feared.

The Air Force winger suffered the injury during a UFL match against Army last Jan. 28 at the Rizal Memorial football pitch.

"Since the MRI scan showed no signs of a tear, it is more like a strained lateral ligament that will enable Caligdong to recover more quickly," Molo said.

Molo said the coaching staff decided to let Caligdong tag along with the team "so he can continue his rehabilitation with them since the entire conditioning staff will also be going to Dubai, and work himself back into shape.

"If all goes well, he might be able to resume workouts with the Azkals during the middle of training camp."

Molo said Aly Borromeo, the team’s skipper still undergoing rehabilitation from an ACL knee surgery, "should be ready to play by April." But he will miss the Azkals’ stint in the AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal in March.

Striker Phil Younghusband also had a sore right hamstring, Molo said, but it was not serious enough to prevent him from joining the Filipino booters in Dubai.

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