East Bengal vs Hyderabad, Kalinga Super Cup: Mandar Rao Dessai Out Of Match With Injury; VP Suhair Unlikely To Play Too

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Kalinga Super Cup 2024 is all set to get underway on Tuesday afternoon (December 9) with East Bengal vs Hyderabad FC in Group A to kick-off the tournament. East Bengal suffered an early jolt as their first-choice left-back Mandar Rao Dessai is out with an injury.

Apart from him, VP Suhair is also expected to play no role in the match as speculation is rife that the forward will move to Hyderabad FC in a possible swap deal for right back Nikhil Poojari. Hyderabad FC, however, are ineligible to register players as the club is currently serving a transfer ban since last November.

With Mandar Rao Dessai unavailable for the East Bengal vs Hyderabad match, youngster Tuhin Das is likely to start as the left-back while Nishu Kumar is playing the role of right-back in the absence of Harmanjot Khabra, who suffered a knee injury in December.

East Bengal defensive line is further weakened for the Kalinga Super Cup as the side will be without their first-choice centre-back Lalchunnunga, who is away on national duty at the AFC Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar. The club's star winger Naorem Mahesh Singh is also with the national team.

However, with six foreigners allowed to play in the line-up, Hijazi Maher and Juan Pardo are likely to play the centre-backs with reserve Athul Unnikrishnan being the other option. As far as Mahesh's absence is concerned, PV Vishnu is likely to replace him with Jesin TK another reserve option.

The concern lies in the forward line as Spanish striker Javier Siverio Toro has been a disappointment with no goals to his name in the ISL 2023-24 so far. Coach Carles Cuadrat has already confirmed that any new foreign signing won't be able to play in the Kalinga Super Cup as six foreign players are already registered for the tournament.

It has also been reported that Kalinga Super Cup is the last chance give to Siverio to prove his worth if he wishes to play in the second phase of the ISL 2023-24 for East Bengal.