Indian footballers. (AP Photo)

PANAJI: Igor Stimac made a stopover in Mumbai to have a word with Sandesh Jhingan before flying out to Delhi where he will oversee India's preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier against Afghanistan.

The India defender has undergone surgery for a partial ACL tear and Stimac was the first to meet him after surgery at the hands of India's renowned sports medicine expert. Jhingan was "doing fine" but the same cannot be said about India's preparations for the crucial qualifier.

India will play Afghanistan in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, next week and Stimac has plenty to worry. The match will be played on an artificial turf, temperatures will drop uncomfortably, and there is not enough time to train.

"There are a few obstacles, but we need to be strong to overcome them. We will have at least one training session (in Dushanbe) to get a feel of the artificial turf and players will need to adjust quickly to the climate since it's snowing around the area," Stimac told TOI on Thursday.

If the lack of time for training wasn't hard enough, Stimac has also had to deal with injuries. Defensive midfielder Rowllin Borges has been left out after picking up an injury and defender Adil Khan - crucial to the team at the back with Jhingan missing - remains doubtful after missing two successive games for Hyderabad FC.

The first batch of players from FC Goa and Mumbai City FC will join the camp on Friday, but with Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC completing their engagements in the Indian Super League (ISL) only on November 10, Stimac may be left with just one full training session before facing Afghanistan away on November 14.

From Dushanbe, India will travel to Muscat for another away clash against Oman on November 19.

The draw against Bangladesh at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata last month has pegged India back in their quest to move to the next phase of the World Cup qualifiers. Should they drop more points in their next two matches against Afghanistan and Oman, even staying in contention for a place in the Asian Cup 2023 will seem doubtful.

India are fourth in the group with two points from three matches. Asian champions Qatar are on top of group E with ten points from four matches, followed by Oman (6) and Afghanistan (3).

