Cardiff City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge will only play one game at the 2019 Asian Cup before returning to the Premier League team.
The 28-year-old could have missed up to a month on duty for the Philippines.
But Philippine Football Federation president Maiano Araneta says Etheridge will only play their opener with South Korea on 7 January.
"We know the importance of Neil with Cardiff, so he'll play in the first game and go back," Araneta confirmed.
The Bluebirds will play Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on 1 January, before travelling to face Gillingham in the FA Cup third round on 5 January 5.
Neil Warnock's side then host Huddersfield Town in the league on 12 January.
That means Cardiff are only likely to be without 62-cap Etheridge for the game at Gillingham.
Warnock may even have chosen to rest his first-choice keeper, the first Filipino to play in the Premier League, for the FA Cup game as he juggles his resources with Premier League survival his chief concern.
After facing South Korea, the Philippines - managed by former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson - play China on 11 January 11 and Kyrgyzstan on 16 January in the group stage, with further games to follow if they qualify for the group stage.
The Asian Cup is held once every four years and in 2019 will run from 5 January to 1 February in the United Arab Emirates.
Pathetic. The way I see it, Cardiff and Etheridge need to commit or don't bother going at all!
ReplyDeleteIt's disruptive and it comes across like the PFF/national team management are giving him special treatment. Etheridge is good, but he's not that good!
Well he is that good. If he wasn't then Cardiff will find it no trouble to release him for a month.
DeleteAnyway, Cardiff is obligated to release him for the whole tournament. PFF should be more assertive here.
You saying that "he is that good" is just bias. Again, Etheridge is good, but not that good. For starters he's not gonna end up with a top club. He's a good shot stopper but has clear flaw in other areas of his game.
DeleteCardiff may be obligated to release him but Etheridge himself might not be interested in playing in the entirety of the Philippines' campaign and has put Cardiff as his priority. Which is why I said that both him and his need to fully commit or don't bother going at all.
We have the facts on our side and should insist on having him for the whole run. No need to make any concession to Cardiff.
ReplyDeleteOf course any pro player would choose his club over country when it id not on FIFA window. Ikaw ba naman may contract na milyong pounds? You don't know how a player will loose an insurance of their medical if it gets injured outside their club.
ReplyDeletehttps://img.fifa.com/image/upload/jt0d6qoqwqwbp5sbofoc.pdf
ReplyDeleteThe Asian Cup counts as one of the competitions where they must release their players. It's not supposed to be Neil's decision. It's Cardiff City's obligation to make him available for the whole length of the country's involvement in the event.