Looking forward to the second phase of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship, Vietinbank Club has quickly recruited Croatian foreign player Katarina Pilepic. The 1994-born setter has been present since early October to join the team and practice with her teammates, showing great determination.
She is also expected to bring a professional difference to the Vietinbank women's team, especially after competing in many countries such as Thailand, Croatia, Greece, Finland, Azerbaijan, the US and the Philippines...
However, just a few days before the start of phase 2, Katarina Pilepic suddenly suffered an injury, similar to the injury Thanh Thuy had previously suffered.
The bank team announced that the 30-year-old athlete had torn cartilage and needed a long period of treatment and recovery. Therefore, in the short term, Katarina will not be able to return to competition and maintain her form.
Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and Vietinbank immediately started looking for a replacement foreign player. Most likely, hitter Bogdana Anisova will return to VietinBank.
Last year, Anisova played for VietinBank and helped the club finish 5th in the national volleyball championship. However, there is no official information at this time.
In addition to Vietinbank, VTV Binh Dien Long An is also in a similar situation. Accordingly, German-French foreign player Joyce Agbolossou has relapsed and is currently being cared for by the medical team.
In the recent training sessions, the striker born in 2002 only practiced lightly alone, not ensuring his form. Therefore, fans of the Western team hope that Joyce Agbolossou will soon return to play and bring efficiency.
Besides the injury problem, the performance of foreign players also makes many people question.
More than a month ago, Duc Giang Lao Cai Chemicals recruited Russian foreign player - Elena Samoilenko to compete in the 2024 Asian Club Championship.
However, Elena did not meet the team's professional requirements, despite having a pretty good resume. After the tournament ended, Duc Giang Chemicals decided not to renew the contract with this player.
In the upcoming phase 2, most of the teams will add new foreign players, including Sharon Chepchumba (Duc Giang Chemicals), Jana Kulan (Information Corps), Liu Yanhan (Long Son Thanh Hoa Cement), Warisara (LPB Ninh Binh), Svetlana Sukhoverkhova (Geleximco Thai Binh)...
Whether they play effectively or not depends on their form, personal awareness as well as the level of harmony with the domestic players at each club.
