The 31-year-old Kuhan injured his ankle in the semi-final second-leg match against Tenaga Nasional. He was taken out of the match after scoring the first goal for Sapura.
In his absence, Jiwa Mohan took over the duties as the team’s penalty corner flicker and he scored the important second goal in the match that put Sapura through to the final.
Sapura went into the match holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg but Tenaga tied the aggregate score at 4-4 to force extra time. Then Jiwa scored the golden goal to give Sapura a third appearance in the MHL final.
As Kuhan remains a doubtful starter for the final, Sapura coach K. Embaraj is taking a positive look at the situation and feels that it will get the other players to increase their workload.
Kuhan, who is also the team’s top scorer with seven goals, will undergo a fitness test on Friday.
“There is no doubt that Kuhan is a big asset to the team with his ability in set-piece moves and his leadership qualities. The injury appears to be serious but we hope that he can recover well enough to be part of the final,” said Embaraj.
“If he is out, we hope that we can cope well in his absence with senior players like Jiwa, K. Keevan Raj, Maninderjit Singh, K. Logan Raj and S. Shanker carrying the burden of guiding the other players.
“We have enough experience in our side. The team need to play their normal game and not allow the pressure to get to them.”
Sapura were winners in 2005 and 2006 but lost in the semi-finals last year to Tenaga. For Embaraj, the match on Saturday will be his first final as a coach.
Embaraj neither sees his side nor Ernst and Young starting as the favourites and feels that the outcome of the match will be decided on the form of the day.
“Our preparation this week is mainly on mental tune-up. There is nothing much we can work on in other areas at this stage. It is for the players to win it if they can handle the pressure well,” he said.
“Ernst and Young have a hugely experienced and talented side. We cannot afford to give them space to attack and we also have to keep the mistakes down. It is important for us to succeed here if we are to win the match.”
Two players whom Embaraj said could turn the final for them are their two foreign players — South Koreans Song Seung-tae and Kim Jung-chul.
“They are fast and have contributed a lot to our run this season. One of them could turn out to be the match winner. They support our players well and they have a tireless work rate,” he said.
Seong-tae has six goals to his credit while Jung-chul has scored four.
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