Marouane Fellaini of Shandong Taishan celebrates scoring during their Chinese Super League match against Shenzhen FC in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, May 14, 2021. (Xinhua)
Defending champion Shandong Taishan will be without regular starters Marouane Fellaini and Ji Xiang against newly-promoted Zhejiang FC in the 2022 Chinese Super League season opener.
HAIKOU, China, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Marouane Fellaini is set to sit out Friday's Chinese Super League (CSL) season opener between Shandong Taishan and Zhejiang FC due to injury.
Shandong side's head coach Hao Wei chose not to discuss Fellaini's injury in detail at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, just saying he and another midfielder Ji Xiang will not play the game.
"It has been decided that Fellaini and Ji Xiang will skip tomorrow's match as they are injured. Nonetheless, We will try to field the strongest line-up," Hao said.
Fellaini joined up with the Shandong side in late April after completing a five-week quarantine, and has since been training with the team for the delayed start of the season.
It is reported that the 34-year-old former Belgian international has extended his contract with the Shandong club to 2025.
Fellaini made 23 appearances for Shandong Taishan, scoring 11 goals to help the Jinan-based side win both the CSL and Chinese FA Cup title last season. ■
