Gabonese Bulot a no-go for Felda in restart

Felda United will be without Gabonese playmaker Frederic Bulot (pic) when they resume their Super League campaign against UiTM at the Tun Abdul Razak Stadium in Jengka on Friday.

Bulot picked up a knee injury in the 2-2 draw with Premier League side Kuala Lumpur in a friendly match on Aug 12 and has been sidelined in the Fighters’ two other friendlies – 2-2 draw with Negri Sembilan (Aug 15) and Melaka 4-0 (Aug 19).

Felda coach Nidzam Jamil said the 29-year-old Bulot’s knee was not too badly injured but he did not want to risk aggravating the injury by rushing his return to action.

Nidzam added that Bulot’s absence from the team opens the doors for youngsters Fadhil Idris, Danial Amier Norhisham and Faiz Mazlan.

“Bulot’s injury is not a serious one, actually. He over extended his knee during our friendly with KL and he needs to rest. We rested him in the last two friendlies and it seems he will need a week more and this means he will miss the UiTM game,” said the former international.

“We have Daniel, Fadhil and Faiz who can fill in for Bulot ... they can’t be direct replacements as Bulot obviously has the advantage in experience but I believe these youngsters can impact our game positively.”

The Fighters are currently fifth in the 12-team standings with five points from four matches, while their opponents UiTM are ninth with four points.

Nidzam reminded his players that they should not look down on UiTM who mostly use their university players.

“This is the Super League and I believe the teams are here based on their quality and they can punish you if underestimate them,” said the former Selangor player.

“We need to respect all of our opponents, UiTM are still a good side as they have good imports in the team like Rabih Ataya.

“We need to focus on our target in the game, which is to play well and get a positive result.”