Justin needs a month to recover from latest injury

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Justin Hoh, who had a brief return from injury after eight months in November, has been sidelined for another few weeks due to a right foot injury.

Justin, 19, had ruptured his left achilles tendon in April and underwent surgery and the injury put paid to his chances of playing at the Cambodia SEA Games in May.

He was then given the green light to play in the Syed Modi International in Lucknow from Nov 28-Dec 3 where he lost in the last 16.

He managed to reach the semi-finals of the Indian Masters in Guwahati from Dec 5-10 but was forced to give a walkover in the second game against Alvi Wijaya of Indonesia as a right foot injury flared up.

National singles coach Hendrawan said Justin will have to remain patient and allow the right foot, where a tear was detected, heal completely before returning to tournaments again.

“Justin was naturally cautious about his left foot where it took eight months to recover from the Achilles tendon injury. In trying to reduce the burden on the previously injured leg, he may have shifted the workload on the other leg,” said Hendrawan.

“I think this is the reason that had cost the latest injury and he needs four weeks to recover.”

Justin, whose ranking has dropped from No. 54 to No. 67, is in danger of dropping out of the top 100 if he continues to miss tournaments.

However, Hendrawan is not expected to rush Justin as the player is being groomed to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Avoiding further injuries will be the primary concern for Justin than improving on his world ranking at the moment.

Men’s doubles player Yap Roy King is another player who is out of action due to a knee injury sustained at the Syed Modi International and is not expected to compete in any tournaments next month.

Roy King partners Wan Arif Wan Junaidi in the men’s doubles and plays alongside Go Pei Kee in the mixed doubles.