Back in business after injury hell Ilhan Fandi hopes to shine in Singapore Hong Kong match

SINGAPORE – The glint in his eyes and the cheeky smile are back on Ilhan Fandi’s face, but there is also a look of resolve as he seeks to rebuild his football career, which was sent into a tailspin by injury.

Ahead of Singapore’s opening Asian Cup qualifier against world No. 155 Hong Kong at the National Stadium on March 25, the 22-year-old forward told The Straits Times: “It was very hard to not be playing first-team football for more than a year, so it feels good to be playing regularly again.”

In 2022, Ilhan had the world at his feet.

He won the Singapore Premier League (SPL) with Albirex Niigata, grabbing 18 goals and four assists in 24 league and cup games. Besides being named in the SPL Team of the Year, he also picked up the SPL Young Player of the Year and Goal of the Year honours.

Still 20 then, he was signed by second-tier Belgian side KMSK Deinze and touted as the next big thing.

With the Lions, he had scored twice in seven appearances before his world came crashing down. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a 0-0 draw against Vietnam in an Asean Championship group match on Jalan Besar’s artificial turf.

It took him nine months to get back to competitive football in 2023, but despite scoring eight times in 15 games for the Deinze Under-21s in the Reserve Pro League, he tasted just five minutes of action with the senior team who failed to secure promotion to the top division.

Ilhan, who has 15 caps, said: “It’s hard to change a team that was doing well. I trained well and kept improving, but I wasn’t given many chances to play for the senior team.

“It tested my mentality