FAISAL EXPECTED TO UNDERGO SKIN GRAFT PROCEDURE THIS WEEK

SHAH ALAM, May 8 (Bernama) -- The skin layer that will be used in the skin graft procedure to cover the fourth-degree burn wounds suffered by Harimau Malaya and Selangor FC star winger Faisal Halim, who was injured in an acid attack, is being imported from abroad this week.

Selangor FC Head of Sports Medicine Dr Muhammad Hazwan Khair said it is part of the procedure to help and speed up skin recovery.

He said the surgery procedure is expected to be carried out this week specifically to treat the damaged skin layer of the 26-year-old player, while the muscle injury recovery process will be carried out in a subsequent session.

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"It (skin layer) needs to be brought in from abroad for the purpose of a skin allograft, which is part of the procedure to help and accelerate the recovery process.

"According to the surgeon, the procedure is scheduled for this week, and there will be follow-up procedures. It (the skin layer) definitely needs to be imported," he said when met at a private hospital here today.

Earlier, Raja Muda Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is also the Chairman of Selangor FC, spent about 30 minutes visiting Mohamad Faisal, who is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital, this morning.

Faisal Halim was reported to be in a much better condition this morning after undergoing his second surgery at the hospital  yesterday.

Last Sunday, the local football scene was shocked by the incident in which Faisal Halim was injured from an acid attack at a shopping centre in Petaling Jaya.

He was confirmed to have suffered fourth-degree burns on several parts of his body and undergone his .first surgery on Sunday night. His movement and speech were also limited.

The player, who won the Best Goal Award at the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar last January, is expected to be sidelined for at least five or six months, missing out on two matches in the second round of the World Cup 2026/Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan next month.

The incident was the second tragic event affecting a national player after Terengganu FC loan player Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid was injured on the head and leg after being attacked by two robbers at his residential area in Kuala Terengganu last Thursday.

The attacks on national football players have taken a new turn as Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) player Safiq Rahim came under attack by two men on a motorcycle who smashed the rear window of his car with a hammer in Johor Bahru on Tuesday.

-- BERNAMA