Mohun Bagan coach Jose Molina shares crucial updates on Alberto Rodriguez and Nuno Reis ahead of Bengaluru FC match

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Mohun Bagan Super Giant coach Jose Molina shared an injury update regarding Alberto Rodriguez, saying that the Spanish defender will be unavailable for selection for the ISL clash against Bengaluru FC on Saturday, September 28.

Alberto Rodriguez suffered an injury in the Durand Cup final match against NorthEast United on August 31. The veteran centre-back returned to training in mid-September but is yet to regain full match fitness.

Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, Jose Molina denied any speculation that Alberto may see some minutes in the crucial match against Bengaluru at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

"For the day after tomorrow, no (Alberto)," Molina said. "We have to wait. He is still not working with the team, so it's difficult for him to be ready for the match."

Alongside Alberto Rodriguez, another crucial defensive team member that Mohun Bagan Super Giant will be missing is the Portuguese defensive midfielder Nuno Reis. The 33-year-old midfielder was signed in September after last plying his trade in the Australian A-League.

However, the ISL only allows teams to register six foreign players in the squad, and Nuno is the seventh non-Indian player in Mohun Bagan's roster. As a result, he is not yet registered in the league, and the club's manager confirmed that the team have no plans to register him in the ISL.

"Nuno came to mainly help us in the (AFC) Champions League. We already have six foreign players registered in the ISL, If there are no important injuries, then, for the moment, the six foreign players for the ISL is clear," Molina said.

Other than the missing defenders, Molina also spoke about another Mohun Bagan player who recently came back from an injury - Australian forward Jamie Maclaren.

"He (Maclaren) is getting better every day," Molina said. "He helped in the last match, coming in from the bench and playing for 15 minutes. Even though he did not score, I am happy as he is working very hard to be back in the team as soon as possible."

"We have Greg (Martins), Dimi (Petratos), and Jason (Cummings), and it's difficult to play with four strikers," he added.

The forward selection conundrum, as well as a number of unavailable players, will be a cause of headache for Jose Molina, as he will look to choose the strongest possible playing XI when he takes the field against Bengaluru FC on Saturday.