In the 90+7 minute of the second leg of the semi-final between Vietnam and Singapore in Viet Tri, defender Nguyen Van Vi made a beautiful pass into the penalty area for Ho Tan Tai.
The 27-year-old player tried to control the ball to eliminate the Singapore defender. However, he slipped slightly and injured his knee. Doctors came in to check and Tan Tai left the field even though he had only played for a few minutes.
In the post-match press conference, coach Kim Sang-sik confirmed that Tan Tai was still in a lot of pain and likely suffered a serious injury.
Initially, the Vietnamese team doctor examined and predicted that Tan Tai had a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. This was only the initial diagnosis based on observing the Vietnamese player's knee condition.
After the match, Pham Tuan Hai had to carry his teammates out of the locker room and onto the bus. Meanwhile, Do Duy Manh and some members of the coaching staff continuously encouraged and reassured Ho Tan Tai. However, it seemed that the Binh Duong club player was in too much pain and knew that he would have to take a long break from playing.
Hope is not over for Ho Tan Tai. Previously, Nguyen Van Toan had suffered knee pain and left the field in the match against Myanmar. The striker born in 1996 burst into tears and thought of the worst case scenario. In the end, he only suffered a torn ligament. But the two situations leading to Van Toan and Tan Tai's injuries were different.
If the ACL is confirmed to be partially torn, Tan Tai will need to rest for 8 months and the 2024-2025 season will officially end for this defender. At the same time, he will be absent from many matches of the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
