On the morning of August 13, striker Nguyen Van Toan underwent knee cartilage surgery in Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that the player from Hai Duong (old) will need at least 6 months to return to play. Thus, Van Toan will have to wait until the second phase of V.League 2025-2026 to be able to play.
The absence of Van Toan caused a big loss for Nam Dinh club in the context that this team will compete in 4 fronts, including V.League, National Cup, AFC Champions League Two and Southeast Asian Cup C1.
However, in the first leg registration list of V.League 2025-2026, striker Nguyen Van Toan is still named by coach Vu Hong Viet.
In the National Super Cup match against Hanoi Police on August 9, Van Toan could not play and only sat in the stands to watch his teammates compete.
Previously, the striker born in 1996 was injured while participating in the 2024 ASEAN Cup with the Vietnam national team. However, at present, Van Toan has decided to undergo surgery to completely treat the injury after receiving advice from experts and doctors.
In the first leg, Nam Dinh will also not have the service of naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son, because this player is still recovering from injury. However, the team from Thanh Nam has made quality additions towards the new season.
V.League 2025-2026 will officially kick off this weekend. According to the match schedule, Nam Dinh will have the opening match to welcome Hai Phong at Thien Truong Stadium on August 16.
