Safuwan out, Hariss in, along with around 80 diehard fans

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First-choice centre-back Safuwan Baharudin is out of the LionsXII squad that will travel to Kedah for their first away match of the Malaysian Super League (MSL) at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Star tomorrow.

Safuwan, 20, suffered a knock to his knee in the 2-1 loss to Kelantan at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday and his absence means coach V Sundramoorthy will have to find a new partner for Baihakki Khaizan.

The good news is that vice-captain Hariss Harun, who is currently serving his National Service with the Singapore Police Force, will be in the 20-strong squad having secured leave.

The LionsXII are set for a hectic MSL season, with 12 home matches remaining and 13 away games on the schedule, including the match with Kedah.

Their final league game will be a clash with Johor FC at home. The Malaysian FA Cup will be held concurrently, and the Malaysia Cup competition will kick-off after the MSL ends.

The top 12 out of the 14 teams in the MSL qualify for the Malaysia Cup.

LionsXII team manager Eugene Loo faces a huge logistical task arranging travel, accommodation and transport for the team on their travels. Speaking to Today, Loo said yesterday: "We're preparing as far as a month ahead for our trips using the same travel agent that handles our national team's away assignments.

"The respective football associations of the host teams are in turn helping us with our training arrangements there, including local transport right down to drinks for the team."

For tomorrow's match, there will be at least 80 Singapore fans at the 32,000-seater Darulaman Stadium.

Veteran co-ordinator of football trips here, Akbar Hashim, has made arrangements for two buses to leave for Alor Star tonight under the "Diehard Fans of Singapore" banner.

"We've had many enquiries even before the fixtures came out," said Akbar. "I've already got five buses on standby for the Selangor match next month and tentatively booked 30 air tickets for the Sarawak game in March."