Vlatko Drobarov: Kerala Blasters set to sign Macedonian defender

The centre-back will replace the injured Jairo Rodrigues if the move is ratified by the league.

Kerala Blasters are set to sign Macedonian defender, Vlatko Drobarov in the middle of the season to replace injured Brazilian centre-back Jairo Rodrigues. Vlatko Drobarov is set to replace the injured Brazilian for the rest of the campaign. The 27-year-old Macedonian defender started his career at Vardar, a top division club in his native and then  played for various outfits in and around his country. He has featured for clubs like FK Skopje, Napredok Kicevo and Teteks Tetevo, before joining Murceilagos FC in Mexico. Later, he also had stints in Lithuania, Cyprus and has also played for Ohod Al-Medina in Saudia Arabia. His last club was again in North Macedonia, Belasica Strumica, where he featured 15 times scoring once. He is a defender with a big physical presence and his astute passing abilities also allow him to put in a shift as a defensive midfielder. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] However he has been out of contract since July. Kerala Blasters FC have shown interest in him and now they await the approval of the Indian Super League authorities to complete the signing of the player. The Blasters recently  announced on social media that they have parted ways with Brazilian defender Jairo Rodrigues owing to an injury that would keep the player out of action for a long period of time. Jairo Rodrigues was taken off the field after he picked up an injury during their game against Odisha FC. Jairo was one of the many foreigners that the club had signed ahead of the current season and has featured in every match from the start of the campaign. As reported by the club, the Brazilian is expected to be out for a long time and will be receiving medical rehabilitation at the outfit. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="RELATED NEWS | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] The player, however, has taken to social media to announce that he has no plans of parting ways with the club and expects to return to action in a couple of weeks. Both the statements from the club and the player are contradictory and are likely to see the impasse drag out further. Kerala Blasters have been plagued with injuries as players like Mario Arques, Gianni Zuiverloon and Arjun Jayaraj are also sidelined. The former Gokulam Kerala midfielder suffered a ankle injury and was kept out of the squad. He is now set to undergo surgery.