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Monday | November 02, 2026 | Dhaka

Ronan ruled out before SAFF Championship

 Sports Reporter
 Published: 12:02 AM, 02 November 2026

Ronan Sullivan, the rising sensation of Bangladeshi football and one of the architects of the country’s second SAFF Under-20 Championship trophy win, was called up by Coach Thomas Dooley for the first time in the 28-member Bangladesh preliminary football squad.

All preparations to fly from America and take to the field in the red-green jersey were almost complete. But an injury came like a wall in that dream journey at the last minute.

The young forward is no longer playing in the upcoming SAFF Championship due to the injury.

A Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) sources said to this Reporter that Ronan was finally ruled out of the squad due to injury.

Although he was originally not supposed to join Bangladesh preliminary football squad in early November, he was later able to obtain special leave from his college coach.

He then confirmed to BFF that he would be able to stay in the Bangladesh preliminary squad’s camp for the entire period from November 3 to 18. Accordingly, the BFF confirmed his flight ticket on the night of November 1, American time. But the BFF canceled the ticket at the last minute due to injury.

It is worth noting that although the initial 28-member team for the SAFF tournament was supposed to be submitted by October 18, Bangladesh, as the host country, have not yet submitted the list. However, Coach Thomas Dooley had already included Ronan Sullivan’s name in his plan.

But with Ronan’s exclusion, Coach Dooley’s worries about the attack or striking position have now become even longer.

The coach is now forced to reorganise the squad.
Ronan’s absence and injury problems have not only affected the striking line, but also other departments of the team.

Among the footballers currently in the camp, defender Bishwanath Ghosh has not yet been fully fit.

In addition, midfielder Sheikh Morsalin has just recovered from fever. After a one-day break, Coach Dooley conducted a team practice last morning.

However, due to the team’s player crisis and fitness problems, he has not yet been able to divide the full squad into two and practice any matches. The coach has to face some other big challenges to handle the situation.

In particular, the Bangladesh football team will not be able to get midfielder Hamza Choudhury and forward Farhaan Ali Wahid before the match on November 5.

In addition, among the expatriate footballers called up to the team, Italian expatriate Fahamidul Islam has not yet joined the team. If everything goes well Fahamedul Islam will join the 28-member preliminary football squad soon.