Kerala Blasters FC head coach unsure of having enough players for their ISL clash against Bengaluru FC

Kerala Blasters FC will lock horns with Bengaluru FC in their next match in the Indian Super League (ISL). Kerala are expected to take the field after one of their fixtures had to be postponed due to the unavailability of players due to Covid-19 in their camp.

Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic and defender Harmanjot Khabra addressed the media virtually ahead of their ISL clash against Bengaluru FC.

Ivan started the press conference stating the difficulty he has had to go through after testing positive. He is unsure about the current status of the rest of the squad and is unsure of being able to field a side against Marco Pezzaiuoli's men tomorrow. He said:

"I went outside yesterday for the first time in 15 days. Now we have a puzzle. We don’t even know too much. Say for example tomorrow we have to play a Kabaddi game, then probably we will have enough players maybe 7 or 8. You know maybe ten players."

He added:

"We still have to look at it today, me know because it’s weird. It’s strange, you know. Like I said, maybe if you go play kabaddi I don’t know, but football game for tomorrow. We don’t know we will use everybody we can because, like you know, the show must go on."

He finished off by saying:

"Nobody cares if we are ready or not. From our perspective, whoever goes of course will try to give 100%. We don't know if it will look like a football game."

When asked about the side's preparation for this game, the Kerala Blasters FC head coach mentioned that they have not prepared for their upcoming fixture. The team were all in quarantine and did not have the opportunity to leave their rooms until yesterday.

"Organized luxury imprisonment" - Kerala Blasters FC head coach on the league being held in a bio-bubble

The Yellow Tuskers coach stated the problems teams are facing because of how the league has been organized. He said:

'It's been a while in quarantine and the bubble. We are now used to it. It's a kind of, let's say, organized luxury imprisonment. We stay in our rooms. We have our routine and of course when you stop for 2 weeks, it affects your fitness levels, it affects your preparation."

It will be interesting to see how Ivan Vukomanovic sets his side up against an in-form Bengaluru FC after the side were locked up for almost two weeks.