Crysan (R) of Shandong Taishan celebrates his goal with teammate Marouane Fellaini against Chengdu Rongcheng in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Aug. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
Shandong Taishan will be without veteran midfielder Marouane Fellaini and top scorer Crysan in their CFA Cup final against Zhejiang FC.
SUZHOU, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Taishan head coach Hao Wei confirmed on Saturday that midfielder Marouane Fellaini will miss Sunday's CFA Cup final against Zhejiang FC due to a shoulder injury.
"Fellaini needs three weeks to recover from a shoulder injury, so he will not be able to play tomorrow," said Hao.
The Belgian midfielder has made 28 appearances and scored seven goals for Shandong this season. Hao also revealed that Jadson is doubtful for the final as well.
"Even if Jadson is okay, he can only play 20 to 30 minutes," Hao added.
The Brazilian was injured in a Chinese Super League match last month against Shanghai Port.
In addition, striker Cryzan was sent off in the semifinals on Wednesday and is ruled out of the final, meaning Shandong cannot play with their strongest lineup.
"We can only make new arrangements, and hopefully tomorrow's lineup will serve our purpose," Hao said. "Our goal is to win the championship, and I hope to have a good result."
Leung Nok Hang (3th R) of Zhejiang celebrates scoring with his teammates against Wuhan Three Towns in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
Later on Saturday, Zhejiang head coach Jordi Vinyals expressed regret that Shandong could not play with their best lineup.
"It's a pity they cannot use all their players," said Vinyals. "But we will be focused and enjoy the game."
"We hadn't expected such a good result before the season, but now it looks like we deserve it. Today is our club's 25th birthday, the effort from us is a gift to the club and fans," he added.
The CFA Cup will be held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, with Shandong having the chance to become the first team to win three consecutive titles, while the Zhejiang side are eyeing their first trophy. ■
