Juan Ferrando gives update on McHugh injury, Jhingan return

The Mariners' boss was disappointed to drop two crucial points.

ATK Mohun Bagan played out an entertaining 2-2 draw against Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Wednesday. David Williams scored a stunning goal 12 seconds into the game for Juan Ferrando and his men, but that was cancelled out by Bartholomew Ogbeche’s strike in the 18th minute.

ATKMB took back their lead in the second half, when Joni Kauko’s header deflected off Asish Rai for an own-goal in the 64th minute. But, just as it seemed like the Mariners would get their win, substitute Javier Siveiro scored a goal in added-time to snatch a point for his side.

Dropping two points.

Juan Ferrando was clearly not happy to see his side give away a point in the end, as he said: “I’m very disappointed, but I’m more focused on the injuries of Deepak Tangri and Carl McHugh. That’s most important for me now. Sometimes, it’s takes one person to protect the defenders.”

Carl McHugh's injury

McHugh had to be taken off in an ambulance after suffering a knock to the head. When asked to give an update on him, the Spaniard explained: “I don’t know what happened to him, but I’m so scared.I talked to the doctor, but I’m scared because his condition was not good.”

Playing with Roy Krishna and/or David Williams

Ferrando doesn’t believe Roy Krishna would be irked to be benched for David Williams, as he said, “No because we have a plan. Williams worked so hard. But, being dropped is not a problem for Roy because I have utmost respect for him. I’m very happy for him, he’s a respectful player. Today, we had a plan with Willy and I think at the end of the game that plan worked well.”

When asked about whether Williams can now be expected to get more chances, the Spaniard quipped: “It’s necessary to find the spaces, but you know Roy played like a No. 10 or like a false No. 9. It’s important to find the right positions in attack, it’s not so easy. Because in our case, there’s a risk of injuries and it’s necessary to work hard a lot of time. It’s difficult because of this system.”

Amrinder's howler

Amrinder Singh made another howler in the game, basically gifting Ogbeche his goal by scuffing a simple cross. When asked about what’s going wrong with the ATKMB No. 1, Ferrando said, “It’s necessary when there are problems to support him, to give him closure and to help him improve in the details. The solution is to help him everyday.”

Sandesh Jhingan 's return?

Finally, when confronted about reports that Sandesh Jhingan will make his return to ATKMB in January, Ferrando said, “We’ll see. In this moment, I’m focusing on the game against Odisha FC which is after a few days. It’s very stressful these days. I’m always talking about things with the owner and sporting director. So, they’ll give me an update about any new signings when they happen,” he finished off with.

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