ISLAMABAD: Easah Suliman, Pakistan’s star defender and captain, will miss two months of action due to a medial meniscus tear he suffered while playing for Sumqayit FC in the Azerbaijan Premier League.
He recently underwent a successful operation. Consequently, he won’t be available for Pakistan’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying matches against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan next month.
Pakistan is scheduled to play Saudi Arabia on November 16 away from home and host Tajikistan on the 21st of the same month. Suliman played a crucial role in Pakistan’s historic 1-0 win against Cambodia in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on October 17 in Islamabad.
Harun Hamid scored the winning goal for Pakistan in the 67th minute of the second leg after the first leg of the tie between the two sides ended goalless in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, forward Otis Khan remains optimistic about the possibility of rejoining the Pakistan team, despite his absence from a World Cup qualifier earlier this month.
Khan, 28, received news just two hours before the match against Cambodia that he couldn’t participate. He had previously made his debut against Mauritius, but questions about his eligibility led to his exclusion.
“I’m sure it will be resolved,” Khan told BBC Radio Humberside. “The conversation has been positive. Things are looking good at the moment. I’ve got a Pakistani passport and an identity card. Fifa needs to obtain a few more letters and documents from the Pakistani government, and I’m confident it will be resolved.”
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been actively advocating for Khan’s case. The PFF clarified that the issue revolves around a specific requirement that one of Otis’s grandparents must have been born in Pakistan. In Khan’s case, his grandfather was born in Delhi, British India, prior to the partition and subsequently migrated to Pakistan, like millions of others.
Fifa has neither confirmed his ineligibility nor definitively declared him eligible, and their decision remains pending. The PFF emphasized their active collaboration with Fifa to comprehensively address this matter.
